open the throat. Try different degrees of pressure and resistMaintain the long vowels vocally,

ance.

a.

With pressure and no resistance;

b. With pressure and resistance;

noting the difference in the volume and quality of the tone emitted. After clearly recognizing the action of the throat muscles, learn to command it without the finger pressure, and with and without voice. In a little while, the impulse that demands full, mellow, round tone will at once secure the open-throat adjustment, without the artificial and conscious manipulation.

NASAL, OR MOUTH, INHALATION?

According to the dictum of many voice teachers, mouth inhalation is ruinous to both throat and voice, and should never be employed.

But, in loud and rapid speech, it is necessary to inhale deeply and quickly. The attempt to accomplish this, through the nostrils alone, will cause three bad results:a. An ugly face;

b. An ugly sniffing sound;

C.

An utterly inadequate breath supply.

A quick, full, and noiseless breath cannot be taken through the nostrils alone. It is, therefore, at times compulsory to inhale orally.

At all times, in vigorous speech or song, it is just as normal and natural, just as salutary, to inhale orally, or orally and nasally at once, as to inhale through the nose, and much more easy. It is my own habit, and has been for forty years, to take breath, while speaking, through mouth, or nostrils, or both together, indifferently and according to pure convenience. I do not believe that the practice of the advocates of exclusive nasal inhalation is at all times consistent with their theory; it is, in fact, an impossibility.

It is claimed that the nose was made to inhale through; that the mouth is for other purposes altogether, and is acting

outside its proper functions when employed in taking breath; that nasal inhalation is hygienic and normal, and that mouth inhalation is not. It would be very hard to prove these claims beyond question; but it is scarcely worth while to dispute them, except so far as the voice is concerned. I am willing to grant that in ordinary quiet respiration, it is easy, and possibly right, for the most part, to take breath in through the nose, and that it looks better. I breathe that way myself. But, in this catarrh-cursed country of ours, I am decidedly skeptical of the universal ability to inhale nasally; and, in the case of a sufferer from chronic catarrh, I seriously doubt if nasal inhalation could vindicate its claim to be called hygienic.

THE GASP.

To avoid the gasp is the vital point in oral inhalation. The gasp is the audible sign that the inrushing current is striking forcibly against some interior surface; and it is this contact, over and over repeated, that causes the parched mouth and throat, the clouded, hoarse, or husky note, and the whole list of ills imputed to oral inhalation.

HOW TO INHALE ORALLY.

With the lips slightly parted and completely relaxed; with the tongue-tip slightly lifted, so that it receives, moistens, and warms the inflowing current; and with the back mouth slightly expanded, as in an incipient yawn,-you may inhale orally with perfect impunity and without noise. The lips and tongue-tip act as guards, buffers, and strainers; they and the extreme front of the hard palate feel the cooling, drying effect of the ingoing current; but are warm and moist again, the instant the breath begins to flow outward. A little observant practice will give you the knack.

Do not suck or gulp the air in; encourage the waist to expand, by briskly energizing the whole trunk from hips to shoulders, as in alertness and readiness, and by thinking the air in. What really takes place is, that the air flows in, as rapidly and as much as you make room for it by waist and chest expansion; but the sensation should be, that the lungs are expanded and the ribs and chest buoyed outward and upward by the action of the air. It will take time and watchful care to establish the sleight of absolutely noiseless and prompt oral inhalation; but remember that it is necessary, and that you are working for a lifetime possession.

ORDINARY TRANQUIL BREATHING.

Take an easy, unhampered position, standing, sitting, or lying. Empty the lungs, by gentle, gradual collapse of waist and chest. Quietly wait for the process of inhalation to begin of itself. Do not struggle, or gulp, or gasp. You soon feel at the waist a lifting, swelling, pushing, or stretching outward, along with a sensation of buoyancy. The diaphragm is contracting, spreading the floating ribs, relieving the air cells of pressure, and the air is flowing into the lower parts of the lungs. Extend the rib lifting and spreading as far as you can, comfortably. The upper chest may properly rise, but do not raise the shoulders. Retain the breath while you count four, mentally; then let it go completely.

While taking the breath, the diaphragm contracts, depressing its two domes slightly and spreading its margin, so spreading the lower ribs, to which it is attached; the ribs are lifted and separated by the intercostals; the lung space is enlarged, the cells expand, and the air flows in by atmospheric pressure. While holding the breath, the tension is maintained, and the ribs are held out and up; in the expiration, the tension is at once relaxed, the ribs fall inward and down

ward, and the breath issues in a quick but gentle puff. While inhaling and holding, the breathing muscles contract and remain contracted; in exhalation, they relax. Inhalation is active, exhalation is passive.

Repeat again and again. Occasionally, emit the exhalation audibly through the open mouth, as a light, brief sigh. After somewhat of control has been gained, discard the preliminary emptying of the lungs: instead, start and govern the process of inhalation simply by willing to take breath.

FULL, DEEP BREATHING.

Inspire as fully as possible by the action of the diaphragm. Extend the inhalation, by raising the chest. As the chest. rises, flatten the abdomen, very gradually, until the upper chest is completely inflated; then, by quick, decided tension, set the abdominal and waist muscles in deadlock. Do not suffer the shoulders to rise. Hold the breath long enough to count five. Then, prepare to exhale. Keeping the diaphragm firm, relax the abdomen, breaking the deadlock, so that both waist and abdomen are expanded. Now, slowly exhale. Maintain the waist and abdominal expansion, as if trying to burst a belt binding waist and upper abdomen, as long as you can without strain, say, long enough to count ten; then the waist, following the lead of the abdomen, gradually subsides; since the diaphragm, still tense, must rise, to reach and press upon the emptying and receding lungs. The abdominal muscles are the motor, and the diaphragm is the governor, or equalizer, of the pressure. Finally, if the exhalation is to be completely exhaustive, the diaphragm relaxes, and still rises by the abdominal pressure, while the chest falls.

WHY THE TENSE DIAPHRAGM IS NECESSARY

IN VOICE PRODUCTION.

The maintenance of tension in the diaphragm during expiration, in voice production, is necessary,

a. For economy of breath, with economy of effort;

b.

C.

For dynamic and rhythmic control of utterance;

As the basis of chest resonance.

If the diaphragm is relaxed, or its tension flabby, the air in the lungs is disturbed, and the resonance of the voice is impaired by breathiness. The tense diaphragm is analogous to the lower head of the snare drum, supporting the air in the chest so that it is substantially undisturbed, and may be brought into vibration with the laryngeal voice. The expiratory current is also in vibration. In full orotund, the air in the chest, and the chest itself, are so strongly in vibration that, if a finger-tip is firmly pressed against the breastbone, the thrill will be felt throughout the hand, and sometimes even beyond the elbow.

Let me repeat, that in the current of speech it is scarcely ever necessary to take a full breath. Too much breath is a hindrance, instead of a help. A moderate breath supply, frugally expended and frequently replenished, is the practical rule for the reader, speaker, actor, and singer. But, for discipline, deep-breathing exercises are of the greatest value, and for health. They give ease, flexibility, and power, and affect the whole voice habit favorably.

EFFUSIVE EXPIRATION.

Silently and quickly inhale a comfortable fullness of breath; hold five or six seconds; exhale smoothly, gently, and as slowly as possible, with a whispered hŭ, as in hush. During the exhalation, retain the diaphragmatic tension. The waist may even expand at first, more than at the completion