BREATHING FOR VOICE.

The outgoing current of breath, acting upon and acted upon by, the more or less tense and approximated vocal bands, produces whisper and voice. Herein consists one of the daily and momentary miracles that we accept and appropriate without thought or acknowledgment. The breath, having accomplished its vital office of changing venous into arterial blood, is straightway no longer minister of life, but demon, charged with physical decay and death. It is banished as an enemy; but, on its way to the outer air, it turns angel again, bounteous in its parting gift: By the magic of its contact with the pillars of the half-way portal, it is reborn into another creature-voice; which, ere it reaches the final exit of the lips, is yet once more transformed, into that greatest marvel of humanity, articulate, living speech. The dying. Samson reverses the achievement of the Scriptural hero: his shaking of the pillars calls into being an airy but stupendous fabric, more wonderful than any temple built with hands the temple of eloquence and song.

I am inclined to believe, although I cannot prove, that, in producing the volume and quality of voice that elocutionists call orotund, answering to the bass and the barytone, and the contralto, of the singing voice, the resonance is initiated, not at the vocal bands, but in the chest: in the trachea, in the bronchi, in the bronchia,-in the very air cells, perhaps. Listening to the mellow amplitude or the thunderous crash of the sound, and at the same time feeling the strong vibration of the whole thorax, it is difficult to believe that the breath does not, upon occasion, become voice before it reaches the vocal bands.

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Common sense at once assures us that, in proportion to the volume and energy of voice there must be volume and strength in the outgoing breath current. Again, in proportion to the roundness and fullness of voice sought, and the corresponding largeness of the expiratory current, should be the expansion of the vocal channel: otherwise, the tone is squeezed, cramped, and throaty, sometimes hoarse; the throat lining becomes inflamed, and the throat muscles grow weary and ache.

The first end to be sought, then, is the automatic adjustment of the breathing to the needs of utterance, so that work becomes play, with a buoyant consciousness of abounding power. In the special breathing exercises, the fullest inflation, having been gradually acquired, should be frequently practiced, with moderate retention and smooth, slow exhalation. But, in actual song and speech, this is

THE GOLDEN RULE OF BREATHING.

At every pause of silence, inhale so much, and only so much, breath as is necessary for the ensuing group; the pauses being as frequent as the sense requires or permits.

With the lungs surcharged, natural and easy utterance is impossible; with a scanty breath supply, the tone is thin and feeble, perhaps shrill. Practice soon renders automatic the adaptation of breath supply to force and volume.

A THROAT-OPENING EXERCISE.

Press the side of the forefinger slowly, but firmly and strongly, against the front of the throat, at the angle between chin and neck, just above the Adam's apple. The muscles that control the root of the tongue will be roused to resist the finger pressure, and will contract to thrust it away, and so

ance.

open the throat. Try different degrees of pressure and resistMaintain the long vowels vocally,— With pressure and no resistance;

a.

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