Tone-Formation.

Beauty of tone implies absence of disagreeable qualities, and freedom from unpleasant sounds. Faulty tones are called nasal, guttural, palatal, throaty, muffled, and so on, the peculiar timbre of each suggesting the name. If the throat is relaxed, and if the soft parts of the vocal tube lying between the larynx and the teeth are kept out of the way, most of the disagreeable qualities of voice enumerated disappear. Certain requisites are necessary to good tone-formation.

First, a movable lower jaw.

It is astonishing that so many of young and old will, when they wish to open the mouth for song, try to keep it closed. Paradoxical as the statement is, it nevertheless describes a very common phenomenon— the "fixed jaw," it may be called. As soon as the teeth are parted slightly, the muscles of the face and neck which control the movement of the lower jaw contract, holding it in a fixed position, and incidentally tightening the muscles of the throat until the larynx is in a grip as of rubber bands. The mouth must not be held open as if the jaws were pried apart. It is opened by the relaxation of the closing muscles and should hang by its own weight, as it were. If then the lower jaw drops easily, and with no accompanying muscular contraction of face or throat, the tone may be formed or shaped well forward in the mouth, unless the soft parts referred to obstruct it.

These soft parts are the tongue and the soft-palate. The soft-palate is a structure which hangs from the posterior edge of the hard-palate. The uvula, the pillars of the palate, and the tonsils are parts of the structure.

The tongue which, when the mouth is closed, nearly fills it, should in vocalization lie as much out of the way as is possible. If the tip be pressed against the lower teeth and its sides upon the molars, it forms a floor to the cavity of the mouth. If the tip turns toward the roof of the mouth, or if it is drawn back and under, so as to arch the tongue, tone is seriously interfered with, while if the root of the tongue is drawn backward, the tone is shut in.

If the soft-palate is not raised in singing, the tone is diverted into the cavities of the nose, and that color given to the tone called nasal. If the lower jaw is held too high, the tone is again forced through the nose. A nasal quality can be modified by opening the mouth. The muffled voice is sometimes the result of the tongue's unruly behavior. The throaty, pinched voice, due to a stiff and pinched throat, will hardly appear if good conditions as regards position, breathing, soft tone, open mouth, etc., are maintained. The tone should not be swallowed nor, on the other hand, blown out of the mouth. It should be formed in the mouth and kept vibrating within it. When the right conditions are hit upon, the tone seems to sing itself. Whether soft or loud, the tone should fill the mouth, so to speak.

It must now be remembered that beauty of tone improves along with growth of thought and feeling. Encourage discrimination in tone-quality and help in any way advisable the growth of good ideals, and verily shalt thou be rewarded.



CHAPTER VI.

VOWELS, CONSONANTS, ARTICULATION.

Sound-vibrations generated at the larynx are modified as to their form, by the size and shape of the resonating cavities of the mouth and pharynx. Through the movements of the soft-palate, tongue, lower jaw and lips, the shape and size of the mouth can, within certain limits, be changed at will. As every vowel-sound requires a peculiar form of the resonating cavity for its production, it will be easily understood that each vowel-sound of which the human voice is capable can be made by a proper adjustment of the movable parts of the vocal organs. As all singing-tone is vocal or vowel in its character, the production of the various vowel-sounds takes precedence in the study of vocal music. Just how much of this study can be carried on in school music will depend upon circumstances, the chief of which is the time assigned for music. It is very easy to suggest that if the time given is not enough, that longer lesson periods be demanded; but it is quite probable that, owing to the pressure of elaborate courses of study, the request would be seldom granted. It remains, then, for those in charge of school music to expedite their work by means of simple and direct methods.

Each division of the music work must be carried so as to secure unity of result. The vocal drill, oral or written, will train the eye and ear for sight-singing, and the sight-singing be a practical application of correct vocal drill.

The study and practice of the different vowel-sounds must then fit in with the scheme of study. The practice of singing the vowels by name as, a, e, i, o, u, is not to be recommended, as only one, namely e, stands for a single sound-element; nor is it probable that the results will justify extensive drill upon the more obscure vowel-elements, if the term may be applied to those sounds which are differentiated only slightly from the more pronounced vowel-sounds.

There are some twenty vowel-sounds that are used in English speech, but for various reasons a less number are employed in song. For, while it is desirable to give to each word and syllable its correct vowel-sound in singing, those which are unfavorable to good tone are usually approximated to the sound of those more favorable to good tone.

If too marked distinctions in the vowel-sounds are made by the singer, the result is disagreeable; while if the voice preserves a similar hue or tone-color throughout, the effect is pleasing.

The listener is unaware of the slight deviations from the spoken vowel-sound which the singer makes, that the requirements of tonal beauty may be met.

It is advisable in vowel-practice to avoid letters or symbols which represent two sounds, an initial and a vanish; and to use simple vowel elements instead. The combinations of different elements represented by certain letters and diphthongs may easily be explained when they appear in the words of a song, if, indeed, the study of phonics has not already cleared away all difficulties.

In singing, however, it is necessary to understand which of the two sounds, the initial or the vanish, is to be sustained. In ⱥ, for instance, which is ehe, if the vanish e is sustained in a word like day the effect is deh-ee. The first sound should be sustained, and the vanish e be heard only slightly as the mouth partly closes at the end of the tone. Ɨ, again, which is equivalent to ahe, is often sung by prolonging the e instead of the initial ah, as light—li-eet. Ø is a compound sound øøø, but the tendency to sing the first sound short and prolong the second is very slight usually. O, then, can be used to represent a simple element. U, which equals eoo, is best sung by making the initial sound short and the vanish the longer tone.

It will thus be seen that of the five vowel names, a, e, i, o, u, e only stands for one sound, though the two sounds of o are so closely allied that the vanish is often imperceptible. The sound of ⱥ in ăt is the most unfavorable sound for song in the language, and those extremely consistent singers who wish to use it can do so.

The nasal twang of Yankeedom is a plant that needs no nourishing. Its roots are grown wide and deep; so much so, that those who love it need not fear that it will pine away and die, if it bears no fruit of song, but only that of speech.

The sound of ă will survive even if it is unused in song. It should in singing be broadened nearly to the sound of ah.

A number of simple elements are suggested which may be used in various ways in vocal drill. They are ɇ, ĭ, ĕ, ä, a, ø, [)oo]. Or ɇ (as in be), ĭ (as in it), eh, ah, aw, ø (as in go), [)oo]. The vowel-elements remaining are each so closely allied to some of those indicated that the attempt to differentiate them from the above in vowel-drill is hardly worth while. In fact, the use of ĭ— i as in it— may be omitted if pupils have learned to sing ɇ with fair breadth of sound, and oo may be dropped in grades above the primary. It is the final sound of ø, as before said. This leaves five vowel-elements.

E.

This vowel is often badly sung, and its form is none too favorable to good tone even when made as large as distinctness will allow. The lips must be drawn a little away from the teeth as in a smile, but don't overdo it, and the teeth slightly parted. The lips should not be drawn back, exposing the teeth and gums, nor should they be contracted and pressed against the teeth. In e and in all vowel singing the lips should be relaxed, not contracted, and kept about as far from the teeth as they are in repose. If the opening of the mouth, that is, if the cavity back of the teeth is kept too small and narrow, the tone will be nasal and twangy. The mouth must be opened enough to permit purity of tone and free emission. The sound should verge toward i in it.

I.

This sound is ɇ broadened. The teeth may be a little farther apart than when ɇ is sung.

Ĕ or EH.

This is the sound of e in the word get. It is also the initial sound of the vowel ⱥ or long a. It is true that this sound is not usually so given, but if ⱥ is sung with this sound as its initial sound, and the one to be prolonged, the very best vocal results can be obtained. The vowel ă is more often poorly sung than otherwise. This is, perhaps, for the reason that comparatively few singers recognize that long a stands for two sounds, and that the first, which may be spelled eh, can be sung with large form and placed well forward in the mouth, while the second sound ɇ is small in form, and not adapted to the finest tone-effects. In singing this element, the jaw should drop much lower than for ĭ and nearly as low as for ah.

Ä or AH.

This is the tone universally accepted as the best for voice-development; but in school-singing it is not permissible to use the voice except in the lightest manner, therefore purity of tone must content our ambitions; power can come later in life. The mouth opens widely for this tone and the whole throat is expanded.

A or AW.

This element is formed very much like ah. It is ah broadened a little. The jaw drops to a lower point and the mouth-cavity deepens, while at the same time the extension from side to side narrows a little.

Ø and OO.

These sounds are better adapted to securing the use of the thin voice, where pupils have been accustomed to the use of the thick voice, than any other vowel-element. The mouth is well opened back of the lips, which should not be puckered as if to whistle, but relaxed instead.

In actual practice there may be observed a tendency, more or less marked, but pretty sure to manifest itself if practice on one sound is continued too long at a time, to deviate from any one toward some other vowel-element, as ĭ to ɇ, eh to ĭ, ah to er or er or uh, aw to uh, ø to oo.

If this tendency to deviate from the right tone be permitted, the most slovenly habits will be formed, and all distinctions in vowel-sound disappear. Vowel-practice had better be omitted from class-work unless carefully and conscientiously taught.

If the course of music embraces drill upon scales, vowel-practice may be incorporated into the course easily. For instance, the drill outlined upon p. 70 may one day be given with e for a few moments, then with o. On another day the drill may be upon ah, followed by eh, and so on. It is unnecessary to particularize. Every teacher will at once see how to apply practically vowel-singing to his music course. The exercises and songs may be sung with vowel-sounds. Nearly all books advise the use of la, lo, etc., in vocal exercises; but while that method of singing is unobjectionable, the vocalization of solfeggii, it may be observed, is established by the sanction of time and the experience of thousands of voice-trainers the world over.

The advantages which flow from vocalizing exercises and songs on a single vowel-sound are too many to be described in a word. No supervisor or teacher of music can afford to use do, re, mi, exclusively.

Another class of exercises is now suggested which may be sung upon one breath. They will be found especially adapted to develop flexibility and a ready adjustment of the movable parts of the vocal tube to the positions suited to the formation of the different vowel-sounds. If three sounds are used as here given, they must be sung quite slowly, the change from one sound to the next being made by a quick, easy change of position of the jaw, tongue, etc., but without interrupting the continuity of the tone.

Sufficient pause to obtain a new breath must be made at the end of each group, and the mouth opened properly for the production of the first sound of the next group before it is attacked. The time should be

[Music: f' f' f' {sung on o, e, o}]

quite slow and as in illustration, or the breath will not be used, and at each succeeding group of tones the lungs will become too full of air. The attack will then be explosive, and the tone too loud, if, indeed, the effort to control the breath does not contract and pinch the throat.

Eight groups are given for ascending a scale and eight for descending:

ø ɇ ø ø ɇ ĭ ø ĭ ø ø ɇ oo ø ah ø o ah e ø eh ø ø ah eh ø aw ø ø ah aw ø ɇ eh ø ah ĭ ø ɇ ah ø ah oo ø ɇ aw ø eh ɇ

It will be observed that a certain system of arrangement of the vowel-elements is followed. First, there are five groups, of which o is the first and last sound, the others being placed between. Then o is the first tone with e as the second, the other sounds in turn ending the group. Next ah is the second sound, then eh, i, oo and ah might be used as the second vowel-element, making thirty-five combinations with o as the initial sound of each group. The same number of combinations can be made with ah as the first tone, and so on with each of the seven vowel-elements.

Sixteen of these groups, changed from time to time as may be desired, can be written upon the blackboard and sung by the class in the way set forth, the teacher meanwhile keeping time for and directing the class.

It may be observed in this connection, that, as the voice ascends in pitch, there is a tendency to blend the various vowel-sounds into one sound. As the tones grow higher the sound-waves are focused at higher points upon the hard-palate, the sounding-board of the resonance cavities, and more difficulty is experienced in moulding these sound-waves into the forms characteristic of the different vowel-elements. As the parts concerned in tone-formation gain in flexibility, the result appears in the ease with which the alterations in shape of the resonance tube are made at higher pitches.

Fads and devices which divert attention from the subject and retard rather than accelerate the progress of pupils are common enough in schools, but the following simple illustrations of different vowel-forms may be found useful:

ĭ eh {mouth shapes} ah aw o oo]

The base line represents the floor or base of the mouth-cavity, and the arch, the height and width of the mouth for each sound; the depth is not indicated. The width of the mouth from side to side is represented as greatest in ɇ, ĭ and eh, while the height is greater in ah and aw, o is pictured as nearly round, and oo the same, only small.

It is not contended that these diagrams picture the actual form assumed by the resonance cavities very accurately. The various positions which the tongue and the soft-palate assume are not shown at all, nor, perhaps, is it necessary; for if the pupil is taught to drop the lower jaw to the right position for each sound, and to keep the tongue prone in the mouth, a mental picture of each tone will be formed, and the thought will regulate the action. When the pupil can think the sound desired, the conditions for its formation will be met by the vocal organs. The usefulness of diagrams will then cease.

Consonants and Articulation.

"Consonants are the bones of speech. By means of consonants we articulate our words; that is, we give them joints. We utter vowels, we articulate consonants. If we utter a single vowel-sound and interrupt it by a consonant, we get an articulation. Consonants, then, not only give speech its articulation or joints, but they help words to stand and have form, just as a skeleton keeps the animal from falling into a shapeless mass of flesh; therefore, consonants are the bones of speech. The consonant is the distinguishing element of human speech. Man has been defined in various ways according to various attributes, functions and habits. He might well be called the consonant-using animal. He alone of all animals uses consonants. It is the consonant which makes the chief difference between the cries of beasts and the speech of man." —Richard Grant White.

Consonants are not to be sung. The effort so common among singers to pronounce, by sustaining consonant sounds, is entirely misdirected. M, n and ng, which are made by shutting off the escape of the air-current at either the lips or the hard-palate, and so forcing it through the nose, are often sustained to the detriment of beauty of tone and clear pronunciation as well.

Articulation, which is the pronunciation of a consonantal sound, is accomplished by interrupting the air-current, whether vibratory or not, at certain points. The interruptions are made by the meeting of the lips with each other or with the teeth, by the tongue with the teeth or hard-palate, and the root of the tongue with the soft-palate. The interruption may be complete, as in p or t, or only partial, as in th. The sound of the consonant results from the slight explosion or puff which follows the recoil of the movable parts from the point of contact.

All consonants may for singing purposes be considered as preceding or following some vowel-sound. If preceding, then after the sound is made the vocal organs must be adjusted at once for the proper formation of the succeeding vowel. If the consonant sound follows a vowel-tone, the movement of the vocal organs to the interrupting point must be quick and vocalization at once cease; for if the vowel-sound is prolonged after the production of the consonant, the effect will be an added syllable to the word as at-at-er, up-up-pah, etc. The movements of the organs of speech for both contact and recoil must be more rapid in singing to produce distinct articulation than in spoken language.

Slovenly habits of articulation in speech will reappear in song, and the converse is also true. The study and practice of phonics, which is now general in schools, is of the highest practical importance in singing, as well as in reading or speaking. As consonant sounds cannot be sung, they are best taught in spoken language. The application of the knowledge and skill thus gained is readily applied to the pronunciation of words in singing. If the vowel-elements have been carefully practiced in vocalizes, there will be little effort required to secure the correct formation of all the vowel-sounds of words.

The nasal twang must, however, be ruthlessly suppressed. As before suggested, this will frequently appear in words containing the sound of a as in at, past, fast, etc. It is recommended that such words be sung with a as in father, or if not quite as broadly, at least approaching the sound of ah.

If the movements of the vocal organs are quick, flexible and without muscular tension or stiffness, and if the mouth opens neither too much nor too little for each vowel-sound, words may be sung and understood while beauty of tone is not sacrificed.



CHAPTER VII.

MUTATION OF THE VOICE.

The anatomical and physiological changes which occur in the larynx at puberty have been described in the chapter on "Physiology of the Voice." It may be added that at this period the resonance cavities also undergo considerable alteration in size and form.

As childhood is left behind the individual emerges. Divergences in face, in form and in mental characteristics become emphasized. The traits of race and family are manifested and self-consciousness becomes more acute. This period of development, bringing as it does so much disturbance to the vocal organs, is particularly inimical to singing; and yet public school music is expected to produce its most elaborate results in those grades where the pupils are just about to enter, or are passing through this period of rapid growth and change. The singing in such grades may be discussed with reference first to the singing of girls and then to that of boys.

The vocal organs of girls often develop so gradually in size, and with so little congestion of the laryngeal substance, that no aversion is manifested to singing. In other cases the inflamed condition of the vocal organs is shown by the hoarseness which follows their use, and the huskiness of the singing-tone. The voices of nearly all during the mutation period show more volume of tone on the lower tones and evidences of strain at the higher tones.

It is a good plan to put girls who show throat-weakness, characteristic of their age, upon that part which requires only a medium range of tones, and to repress all inclination to force and push the voice. The desire which girls often express to sing the upper soprano need not affect the teacher to any great extent. A multitude of strong and constantly-shifting ambitions are thronging through their minds. Some wish to sing the highest part because it seems to them to be the most prominent part; some wish to sing it because they can do so with the least mental effort, and so on. These whims and wishes must be treated tactfully, but if the teacher is sure that a certain course is right, there is no alternative but to carry it out, with as little friction as may be. Large voices, that is, voices that proceed from large resonance cavities, are often badly strained at this period of life by too loud and too high singing. It must not for a moment be forgotten that the age is a critical one for vocal effort, and a strain that the adult woman's voice will endure with apparent impunity may produce lasting evil effects on the voice of a girl of from fourteen to sixteen years of age.

If the requirements of the music are such that pitches above F, the fifth line G clef, must be occasionally sung, let the voices upon the part sing lightly. If some of the girls are put upon the lower of three parts, do not let them use the chest-voice, which is just beginning to develop, otherwise than lightly also.

The boy's voice may change from the soprano to a light bass of eight or twelve tones in compass in a few months, or the change may extend over two or three years; that is, two or three years may elapse after the first distinct break before there is any certainty of vocal action in the newly-acquired compass. When the voice changes rapidly, all singing should be stopped. Really, in such cases, boys cannot sing even if they attempt to do so.

They are so hoarse, and the pitch alternates so unexpectedly between an "unearthly treble and a preternatural bass" that a boy can usually sing only in monotone, if, with courage proof against the ridicule occasioned by his uncontrollable vocal antics, he tries to join in. In those cases, where the larynx undergoes a slow change in growth, it is often possible for the boy to sing all through the period of change. The upper tones may be lost, while there is a corresponding gain of lower tones. This process, in many cases, goes on slowly and with so little active congestion of the larynx that the voice changes from soprano to alto, and thence to tenor almost imperceptibly. Voices which change in this way often become tenor, but not invariably.

The question now arises, Should those boys who can sing while the voice is breaking be required to take part in school singing exercises?

In Browne and Behnke's work, "The Child Voice," to which allusion has been made, there is given a resume of 152 replies to the question: Have you ever known of boys being made to sing through the period of puberty, and, if so, with what result?

The answers were:

Forty correspondents have no knowledge.

Five think the voice is improved by the experiment.

Ten quote solitary instances where no harm has arisen.

Ten know of the experiment having been made, and consider it has caused no harm to the voice.

Eight mention results so variable as to admit of no conclusion.

Seventy-nine say the experiment causes certain injury, deterioration or ruin to the after voice, and of this number ten observe that they have suffered disastrous effects in their own person.

These answers were from English choirmasters, organists, music teachers, singers, etc. It will be noticed that only fifteen of those who give a positive opinion upon the subject think that boys can sing through the period of break safely; while seventy-nine are positive that the result is unsafe. The other replies are vague.

It must be remembered that many of the opinions are those of instructors in cathedral schools, where one or two rehearsals and a daily church service means a great deal of singing; while other answers come from choirmasters who require of their boys equally hard work, though less in quantity.

Every individual voice must be judged by itself, if such demands as choir-singing are made upon it; and, while there are some cases, as every choirmaster will probably agree, where no perceptible injury results from singing during the change, the rule is that even when possible, it is very unsafe.

But the daily time given to singing in schools is very short; the work bears no comparison with choir-singing. It might almost be thought as necessary to forbid reading and talking during the break of voice as to forbid its use in a daily drill of fifteen or twenty minutes in singing.

Certainly it is absurd to advocate entire non-use of the voice at this period in either speech or song. It is rather correct to guard against its misuse. If boys have up to this time used only the thick register, they will in singing through the break intensify their bad habits; throatiness, harshness, nasality will become chronic. This would be bad enough, but each bad vocal habit results from the abnormal use of the vocal organs, and occasions hoarseness, chronic sore throat, catarrh, etc.

It is quite customary in school music to assign the boys to the lower part, in part music. This practice continued from the time part-singing begins in the music course, compels the boys to use the thick register. As the larynx gains in firmness from year to year, they experience more and more difficulty with their upper tones— those lying from F to C. Having used only the thick voice in all their school singing, they know of no other, and very likely consider the thin voice which they are now obliged to use in singing the higher tones as altogether too girlish for the prospective heirs of manly bass tones.

The reluctance of boys to sing the soprano would be amusing were it not, in the light of utterly false training, so pitiful.

School music is educational; its scope is controlled by those in charge. The public expects good educational, rather than show work, and employs those to supervise and teach who are supposed to know what good educational work is in vocal music.

The supposition that children's voices can, owing to individual differences analogous to those existing among adults, be divided into alto and soprano voices, is erroneous; children can most assuredly sing in parts, but the quality of tone which in the woman's voice is called alto or contralto cannot be secured for certain physical reasons previously explained; and the use of the chest-tone, which resembles the adult woman's chest-voice as a clarinet resembles a viola, is wholly objectionable.

If, however, the voices have been trained in the use of the thin register only, the management of the boy's voice during the change is simplified; the influence of good vocal habits will be felt; the vocal bands which have never been strained will respond when their condition admits of tone-production. The boy who has been accustomed to sing with an easy action of the vocal ligaments and with open throat will at once become conscious of any unusual strain or wrong adjustment in the vocal organs. If he has learned to sing well, he has also learned not to sing badly.

The test to apply to the subject of boys' singing in school during the break may be: Can they sing without strain or push? Can they sing easily, or does it hurt? There is a certain amount of humbug in boys that must be allowed for, but it does not affect calculations as to their singing-powers more than upon their other abilities, if singing is well taught.

The speaking-voice also indicates the state of the vocal organs, and shows the effect of the break sooner than does the singing-voice. If the tones in speech are steady in pitch, singing is possible in all probability. If, on the contrary, the speaking-voice is croaky and wavering, singing is difficult, if not impossible. As the object of the study of vocal music in the public schools, in so far as it relates to the treatment of the voice, is to develop good vocal habits, not bad ones, it follows that if boys sing during the break it must be only upon those tones which lie within their compass at any time, and that the vocal organs must be used lightly, and without strain.

In nearly every upper grade room there will be a percentage of boys whose voices are in a transition stage, some of whom can sing and others of whom cannot. It requires judgment and tact to handle these voices, but if boys have sung as they should up to this period, and have taken pleasure in it, the mutual good understanding between them and their teacher need not be disturbed. They are likely to do their best.

In this connection it should be said, that really it may be doubted if the common practice of assigning all boys, whose voices show signs of breaking, to the bass part, is right.

If boys have been kept upon the lower part, in all part singing and have never used other than the thick chest voice, then, when the voice begins to break up, it may be that they must sing bass or not sing at all. Boys trained in this way have never used the soprano head register and so if they sing alto, it will be with the thick chest voice of boyhood, which will now be the upper tones of the developing man's voice.

Singing alto at the mutation period in this manner, strains the vocal bands beyond reason, and should not under any circumstances be allowed. It must be understood then in what follows, that singing alto in this, the chest voice, either before or during the break, is unqualifiedly condemned.

But we will suppose now that boys have been permitted to sing only in the head register, that they have been assigned to the upper part in part singing, for notwithstanding that usage is to the contrary, this is what should be done. As has already been suggested the voices of girls change less, and at a younger age than do boys, and they begin to show weight of tone and increased volume, at an age when boys are at their best as sopranos. Girls at this period should sing the middle and lower parts, but it must be said in passing that much of the music contained in our text-books ranges too low in pitch for them, or any voice except a low contralto or a tenor. They must not be permitted to use their voices at full strength, and special care should be taken of those who at this age show hoarseness. With girls as with boys, the change is accompanied with periods of great relaxation of the vocal bands, and during these periods the singing tone is either very light, or very loud.

Returning to the subject of treatment of boys' voices during mutation, and premising that they have sung only in the head voice during childhood, the question arises whether they are not in many cases set to singing bass prematurely. It is obvious that during this period the voice is actually broken, divided in two. The lower notes are produced in the chest or man's register, while more or less of the boy's voice remains as upper tones. These tones, by the way, never are lost, they remain as the falsetto or head voice of the man.

Now the vibratory action of the vocal ligaments is much larger for the chest voice than for the head, or as we ordinarily call it, the falsetto. There is then no question that during mutation a boy can confine himself to the use of his old voice, or so much of it as is available at any time with very little strain. The tone will be light, in fact, during the active periods of laryngeal growth which characterize mutation, there will perhaps be no voice at all, owing to the congestion of the parts, but in the periods of rest separating the periods of growth, the vocal bands will respond. The compass of the head voice at this time varies largely, but it corresponds pretty closely to that of the second soprano, in three part exercises, or from C to C. If it is attempted to carry the voice down it changes to the chest register unless used very lightly.

Without attempting then to lay down positive rules for treating a voice which consists of fragments of voices, the above suggestions are made in the hope that they may receive the consideration of teachers and musicians.



CHAPTER VIII.

THE ALTO VOICE IN MALE CHOIRS.

The suggestions of the preceding chapters are addressed directly to those who teach vocal music in public or private schools, but the general principles and rules are equally applicable to the training of soprano choir boys.

The results in beauty and power of tone which may be obtained from carefully selected choir boys can seldom be equalled in the school-room, first, because training is required to develop voices in strength and purity of tone, and the time devoted generally to school singing, one hour a week possibly, is no more than that given to a single rehearsal of choristers.

Again school singing includes all members of the class, and while it is true that there may be but few pupils in each room who cannot sing, yet there are likely to be some.

These voices, which we call monotones disappear almost entirely when pupils are trained to use the head voice. Still, there is a percentage in every class in school, whose inherited musical perceptions are very feeble, and their slowness cannot but retard the general progress.

Many of the difficulties that beset the teacher of music in schools, then, are eliminated at the start by the choir trainer, when he selects boys with good voices, who sing in tune naturally.

The increase in the number of vested choirs in this country has been very rapid during the past few years, and fortunately, the ideas which have prevailed among the majority of choir-masters on the subject of the boy voice, have been just. This is easily understood when we reflect that we have made the best English standards our ideal.

The leaven of sound doctrine on the boy voice is working rapidly, and there are many choirs both in our large and small cities that are excellent examples of well-trained soprano boys.

There is, however, one problem of male choir training which is not yet satisfactorily solved, at least it is troublesome to those choirs which have a small or moderate appropriation for music.

Boy sopranos are plentiful, basses and tenors are easily obtained, but good male altos, men, not boys, are almost unknown outside of a few large cities. This state of affair has led, in many cases, to the employment of boys as altos, and they have of course sung with the thick or chest voice. It is an unmanageable and unmusical voice, it is harsh, unsympathetic, hard to keep in tune, its presence in a choir is a constant menace to the soprano tone, and were it not for the idea that there is no recourse from this voice, save in the employment of woman altos, it would not be tolerated by musicians.

There is a recourse, however, and it is at the command of every choir trainer whose sopranos have been taught to sing with the head voice alone. It is to select certain sopranos, and when the voice breaks, let them pass to the alto part, and continue to use the head voice.

The objection which will naturally occur, is, that no singing should be permitted during the break. Well, let us consider. The period during which the voice, in common parlance, is breaking, is a period of laryngeal growth, just as inevitable and natural, as is the growth of the body generally. The voice may be fractured, but the larynx is not.

Every choir trainer must have observed the preliminaries to this period. A boy for instance, shows all at once a sudden increase of volume and finds it difficult to sing unless quite loudly or softly.

This shows that the vocal bands are relaxed. Following this, the speaking voice will lower in pitch, and show hoarseness at times. As soon though, as this hoarseness passes away, that is, when the congestion at the larynx has passed, the voice is better perhaps than before. Then comes another break, as we say, that is, a period of sore throat and hoarseness.

After this has passed, it may be that the boy has lost his upper notes, but can sing the lower ones with ease; the tone too, is changed in timbre. It has the color of the man's head voice; or it may be that the boy can still sing his high notes, but that the lower ones are uncertain. Voice mutation is not one continuous period of growth of vocal bands and laryngeal cartilages. On the contrary, the periods of vocal disturbance are separated by intervals when the throat is comparatively free from irritation. These intervals may be long or short. It evidently depends upon the rapidity or slowness of the general growth and development.

There can be no doubt now, that during a time when the voice is uncertain and hoarse from the irritation of the vocal bands and surrounding parts, that singing is positively harmful, but during the intervals separating these periods, especially where they extend, as in many cases, over several months, it would seem that the singing voice might be used.

Each individual case must be observed and judged by itself. This is entirely possible in choirs. If then the choir-master is careful to observe and to humor the changing voice at all critical times; if he will insist that the boy sing very lightly or not at all if it hurts him, and if he will resolutely check any tendency to break into the tenor or chest quality, he can train in a short time a good alto force from his choir, and these young men so trained may become efficient male alto singers.

It is true that in many cases boys may be carried through the mutation period, and at the end show such light tone upon the falsetto or head voice as to be of no value. The strength and timbre of the male falsetto depends partly upon the character of the vocal bands and partly of course upon the size and shape of the resonance cavities.

Men who have voices of wide range and good volume in the chest or usual singing voice, generally possess strong head or falsetto tones, and it may be that soprano boys who possess large voices, that is those which show volume of tone along with purity, whose resonance cavities are large, will prove to develop a better falsetto, as men, than those boys whose voices are thinner. One other point remains to be disposed of. Will the use of this voice by youth or adult, injure his other voice, be it naturally bass, baritone, or tenor? No, it will not, and yet the average choir-master will most assuredly be met with this objection or fear. It is surprising that so many of those who are in the business of trying to teach voice, should be ignorant of the character and range of the male falsetto or head voice, but in spite of this ignorance, and more or less prejudice against its use, the fear that by using it one impairs the tones of the chest register or the usual singing voice, is utterly unfounded. It is produced with far less effort and tension of the vocal bands than is the chest voice, and is physiologically perfectly safe. The mechanism which the larynx employs to produce the falsetto is just as natural as the mechanism employed to produce the chest voice. That it is an unusual voice with us is due to circumstances of musical development. The advent of the male vested choir has, however, created a demand for it, and it may be met as indicated, by keeping boys upon the head voice during mutation or so much of the time as is safe, and afterward, when the age of adolescence is past, even if some prefer to sing bass or tenor, the number of those available for the alto parts will be sufficient to meet all requirements.



CHAPTER IX.

GENERAL REMARKS.

In the preceding chapters, dealing as they do with special subjects or subdivisions of the main topic, the effort has been to point out and to suggest some ways in which good vocal habits may be taught, and simple and effective vocal training carried on with whatever materials there may be at hand in the shape of books, charts, blackboards, staves, etc. The leading idea is the correct use of the voice; the particular song or exercise which maybe sung is of no special importance; the way in which it is sung is everything.

The benefits of teaching music reading in the schools are a matter of daily comment. Is it, then, likely that the good resulting from the formation of correct habits in the use of the voice will fail of recognition? Not so. For the effect of good vocal training in school music would be so general and so beneficent that even unfriendly critics might be silenced.

The first effect upon singing when the thick tone is forbidden and the attempt made to substitute the use of the voice in the thin or head register may be disappointing. It will seem to take away all life and vigor from the singing. Teachers who enjoy hearty singing will get nervous; they will doubt the value of the innovation. In those grades where children range in age from twelve to fourteen years, the apparent loss in vocal power will disconcert the pupils even. Never mind; the use of the thin register will demonstrate its excellences, and it will, if slowly yet surely, increase in brilliance and telling quality of tone.

Again, the compass downward needs to be more restricted at first than after the children have become habituated to its use. As long as there is any marked tendency to break into the chest-voice at certain pitches, the compass should be kept above them; as the tendency weakens, the voice may with due caution be carried to the lower tones, in higher grades be it understood. The tone should grow softer as the voice descends when the lower notes will sound mellow and sweet. At first they may be quite breathy, but as the vocal bands become accustomed to the new action, the breathiness will disappear. One thing at a time is enough to attempt in music, and while a change in the use of the voice is being sought, it may happen that sacrifices must be made in other directions; part-singing, until the voices become equalized, that is, of a similar tone-quality throughout the entire compass, may, as it requires the singing of tones so low as to occasion easy recurrence to the thick voice, be so antagonistic to the desired end that it must be dropped for a time. After the use of the thin voice has become firmly established, part-singing may be resumed. How low in pitch the lower part may with safety be carried depends partly upon the age of the pupils; but until the chest-voice begins to develop at puberty, all part-singing must be sung very lightly as to the lower part or voice.

There is a class of pupils always to be found in our schools who cannot sing in tune; they vary in the degree of their inability from those who can sing only in monotone, to those who can sing in tune when singing with those whose sense of pitch is good, but alone, cannot. While the number of entire or partial monotone voices decreases under daily drill and instruction, yet there always remains a troublesome few, insensible to distinctions in pitch; it is, in view of the possible improvement they may make, a difficult matter to deal with them; for if they are forbidden to sing, the chance to improve is denied them, and if they sing and constantly drag down the pitch, why the intonation of those who would otherwise sing true is injuriously affected.

Many who sing monotone when the thick voice is used, do so because the throat is weak and cannot easily sustain the muscular strain; if they are trained to the use of the light, thin tone, they can sing in tune. After children have been under daily music drill for two or three years in school, if they still sing monotone, it would seem inadvisable to let them participate with the class in singing. They do themselves no good, and they certainly injure the singing of the others; for, as before suggested, constant falling from pitch will in time dull the musical perceptions of those most gifted by nature.

During the early years of school-life the pupils may often sing out of tune because the vocal bands and controlling muscles are very weak.

It is an excellent idea to separate the pupils into two classes: First, those who can sing with reasonably good intonation; and second, those who can sing only a few tones, or only one.

Let the second class frequently listen while the others sing. They will thus be taught to note both tone and pitch, and if any musical sense is dormant, this should arouse it; but, if after long and patient effort a pupil cannot sing, let him remain silent during the singing period.

Every possible effort should certainly be put forth to teach children to sing in tune, but yet it is now, and will doubtless remain true, that a small per cent. cannot be so taught.

The primary causes of monotone singing may be physical or mental; in many cases, weak vocal organs and feeble nervous power, in others lack of pitch-perception— tonal blindness.

The secondary causes include the influences of environment and heredity. The contempt in which music has been held by a portion of the English-speaking people from the time of the Reformation until quite recently, or shall we say until even now, has made its powerful impress upon opinions, tastes, and natural powers. Singing, with a part of our population, is literally a lost art, lost through generations of disuse.

It is often urged by educators that each study must help other studies. The various subjects which are taught must move along, as it were, like the parts in a musical composition, dependent upon, sustaining, and harmonious with each other. Now, while it is not within the scope of this work to discuss the relation of music to other studies in all of its bearings, it is yet clearly in line with its general tenor to suggest that the tone in singing will react upon the speaking-voice, and vice versa.

Now, if pupils recite and speak with a noisy, rough tone, it will not be easy to secure sweet, pure tone from them when they sing; but, on the other hand, while they may be specially trained in good singing-tone, it will not, as a result, follow that the speaking-voice will be similarly modified. Special attention must be given to this also; but if children invariably sing with pure tone, it must be very easy to direct them into good vocal habits in speaking and reading.

It is no more necessary for children to recite in that horrible, rasping tone sometimes heard, than it is to sing with harsh tone; and if the same principles are applied to the speaking-voice as are herein given for the management of the singing-voice, in so far as they may be applicable, this harshness and coarseness may be avoided. It is the pushed, forced tone in speech or song that is disagreeable.

If teachers will consign to well-merited oblivion those two phrases, "speak up" and "sing out," and will, instead, secure purity and easy production of tone, with distinctness of articulation, they will do wisely. Let us not hesitate to teach our pupils to know and to feel that which is beautiful, and good, and true, that our schools may promote the growth of good taste, and stand for the highest morality and the best culture.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Errors and Inconsistencies:

to justify the teaching of vocal music in schools [is schools] inserted posteriorly into the arytenoid cartilages [aryteniod] forth. Even up to the change of voice [comma for period] to sing the higher tones lightly [to sing the the] Ɨ, again, which is equivalent to ah+e [I not italicized] light—li-eet [text unchanged: error for "lah-eet"?] ah to er or er or uh [text unchanged: one "er" may be an error for "eh"] the vocalization of solfeggii [spelling unchanged] he tries to join in [trys]

The question, How high may boys or girls sing [paragraph not indented]

THE END