THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
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In exercising the voice, each note should be given softly, with exactly the same quality and volume,* unless otherwise marked. A few notes will require more practice and attention than all the rest combined. Take these refractory notes and master them before going another step, and you will be astonished at your rapid advancement.
This must include a proper healthful condition; proper vocal exercise is conducive to health.
Delsarte said: “Voices may be manufactured. Put your heart in the place of the larynx and there will always be enough voice for attentive listeners.” The heart in the larynx and the tone in the pharynx.
THE SINGING LESSON.
Before beginning to exercise the voice, one should always go through some preliminary movements to circulate the blood and animate the nerves, and bring the whole body into a state of vibration. It is well to have a little system of exercise, beginning with the feet: posing on the toes, moving from side to side, bending the knees, the waist, raising the arms, raising and broadening the chest. A very excellent and exhilarating exercise is the Spanish waltz with its various movements.
If from any cause you find it an effort to sing, do not try to sing, but exercise the body until you are comfortably tired; study the music with the mind. Then rest— take a nap. There is nothing like sleep to give freshness and vigor to the voice, and it is a mistake to give more attention to the immediate vocal organs than the whole system, for the latter has much to do with the production of tone, especially in the color, quality, sweetness, freshness and fullness, which is also influenced by the action of the pharynx, nasal cavities, mouth, hard and soft palate, teeth, and the strong muscles of the head.
The slightest change in either of these affects the quality of tone. No two persons are formed or organized exactly alike. The formation of the mouth differs in each individual, and a difference of a hair’s breadth changes the quality of the tone. The slightest change in thought, feeling, change of the muscles of the head, face, throat or chest, wrinkling the brow, holding the eyes fixed, lifting the arms, tight shoes, corsets, a corn on the toe, in fact, any change in position, feeling or condition, changes the tone. Now, as the formation of the mouth, throat, pharynx and nasal cavities differs in each individual, we must study the acoustic properties of each, and adopt the position accordingly. If one has a wide mouth, a low, flat roof, he must drop the chin and raise the muscles of the face and head toward the throne of the pharynx, and choose a vowel sound adapted to his case. With a narrow mouth and high roof, he must open his mouth and throat laterally in a smiling position, say the word la broad, distending the cheeks, and keeping in his mind the word width.
One with a well-shaped but small mouth needs both breadth and height. He must practice the broad la , or the word loud, with the back part of the mouth open as much as possible without strain. If one is the possessor of a large mouth and throat he should be content.
For this reason it is well to take the syllable la broad, which is favorable to good tone by opening the throat. Then make all the other vowel sounds as near like it as possible, without changing the position of the mouth, and when you are able to make the same quality of tone on each vowel sound without changing the position, and without any stiffness or contraction of the muscles, you will have accomplished a great and difficult feat, and you will be able to sing in any language with as much ease as Italian. Forget that you have a throat, larynx, or vocal cords; think of them as a passage for breath only. Remember that the two important points are the posterior attachment of the diaphragm and the throne of the pharynx. These should be held in mind without effort. To broaden the pharynx at the top, take the syllable £vz, and widen all the upper space, even the nostrils without effort. Now, learn to attack a note at once perfectly, without reaching for it—accomplish this before taking another
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