considered; as, time, pitch, quality, and force, under the forms of movement, rhythm, inflection, melody, qualities general and special, general force and stress. It remains to show the connection between these rhetorical properties of utterance and special cultivation of the voice. Every one has used his voice from infancy; and it is natural to assume that the action which has become habitual is the normal, or natural, action. This, however, is often far from the truth. We must always discriminate between the natural and the habitual. THE NATURAL IS THAT WHICH WORKS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF NATURE, AND WHICH JUSTIFIES ITSELF BY THE RESULTS OF EASE, DURABILITY, SUITABILITY, AND UNOBTRUSIVENESS OF ACTION. pure tone. The action The normal action of the voice has been intimated in connection with the normal state of the emotions. It is that which constitutes the of the different parts of the vocal apparatus according to the prescriptions of nature, and the establishment of such action and of the normal conditions upon which it depends, by the use of definite and systematic exercises, this constitutes vocal technique. While it is true that there can be no really expressive utterance without an approximately normal vocal action, it is true, on the other hand, that the vocal technique itself will best be developed and established under the guidance of the rhetorical spirit; that is, the spirit of genuine and untrammeled communication. Elastic. Touch, Purity. ä-ä-ä, as in far. 3. Koo-koo, alternating with oo, ō, ä. 4. Exercise in thirds. Exercise in fifths and thirds, with skips. 1. Lip stroke for labials: pa, ba, ma, fa. 2. Lip motion for W, wai-wo-we-wah. 3. Teeth and lip stroke for F, fo-fa-fa. 4. T, l, r, s, ch, j (tongue stroke, tip); exercise; e. g., ta-lara-sa; pa-ba-ma-fa-ta-la-ra-sa; staccato and legato, and with varied rhythms. 5. K, koo-koo. Varied rhythms. Tongue stroke, back. 6. Passages for difficult and rapid articulation. 1. Slow, full inspiration, with abdominal muscles wholly relaxed, expelling; abdominal muscles passive. 2. Slow expulsion by contracting Abdomen and upper Chest. Filling with indrawn Abdomen. Abdominal muscles active. 3. Lying on back, or sitting in reclining posture. a. Depressing Diaphragm and Abdomen. b. Contraction of abdominal muscles, allowing Diaphragm to relax, with staccato ah, oh. c. Contraction of Diaphragm, allowing Abdomen to relax, with staccato notes. d. Silent contraction of muscles, first separately, and then together. e. Simultaneous contraction of all, singing oh-ah. 4. Standing and singing vowels, syllables, and phrases. 5. Singing tone held: a. During breath. b. Up and down scale. 6. Calling tone in vowels, syllables, and sentences. 7. Passages Full and Sustained. All the special exercises included in the accompanying vocal chart may be thought of in connection with the different moods of utterance. The exercises, while primarily physical, and designed specially to secure the right technical action of the parts, may yet be varied so as to fit the different moods of utterance; and they may be more intelligently practiced after the study of these expressional moods than before. This is true especially of the practical studies in sentences and paragraphs, which close each list of exercises. Some further explanation may render more intelligible the directions for the discipline of each organ. It is important to keep constantly in mind all parts of the vocal apparatus, in order to avoid ruts and hobbies. The proper action of any one part alone will not secure good vocalization. All the parts are mutually dependent. In a system of voice culture we might commence with any one of the organs. Practically, it is perhaps most advantageous to begin with the development of the chest. I. The Chest performs a double office. It acts as an automatic bellows, and also as a resonance-chamber. The second office is practically the more important of the two. This indicates the necessity for securing perfect openness. The air column is thus deepened and broadened; and, being held approximately quiet during speech, this enlarged air-chamber reinforces the vibrations of the vocal chords, much as the body of the violin enhances the vibrations generated by the string. It is the greatest mistake to treat the chest as merely a bellows. The purity as well as depth, resonance, and volume of the tone depends upon the skill with which the vocal chords and articulating organs play upon this quiet air-chamber. Such action produces musical (regular and periodic) vibrations. Such vibrations have the strongest transmitting power. The tone, as it were, radiates—it is propagated, rather than propelled. The action by which such tone is produced depends upon skill rather than muscular strength. The greatest effort is put forth by the inspiratory muscles, not the expiratory; the labor and skill both being directed to the problem of holding, during the utterance, the greatest practicable amount of approximately quiet air, which tends to expel itself by the natural contraction of the air-cells. The air-chamber thus becomes at the same time an automatic bellows and the great body of the tone-producing instrument. The physical sensations accompanying such use of the voice are most agreeable, producing a sense of activity without exertion; giving a buoyant, fresh, inspiring, enlivening sense, which well fits the normal attitude for communication. It is both cause and effect of such normal expressional mood. 1. Poise. This is vital in all vocal action, because without it there can be no free breathing. If the body is out of balance, all parts of the chest and waist will be in some measure constricted, thus destroying |