248 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tery of the piano or violin, and it is recognized that to excel with 

 either of these instruments seven or eight hours of laborious prac- 

 tice every day are necessary. Yet many seem to fancy that the 

 voice can be trained in a few months. How preposterous such a 

 notion is must be evident to any one who takes the trouble to 

 think about the matter. In the case of the violin or piano the 

 instrument is perfect from the outset, and the student has only to 

 learn to play it ; the singer, on the other hand, has to develop in 

 some cases almost to create his instrument, and then to master 

 the technique of it. The human larynx is, as already said, a musi- 

 cal instrument of the most complicated kind, for its two reeds are 

 susceptible of almost infinite modification in size, shape, manner 

 of vibration, etc. A distinguished surgeon not long ago edified 

 the public by a calculation of the number of muscular movements 

 executed by a young lady while performing a simple piece on the 

 piano ; it would be hopelessly impossible to count the movements 

 of the muscles which work the vocal cords. 



The details of vocal training I must leave to the singing-mas- 

 ters ; I can only touch on one or two points which lie more or less 

 within my own province. In the first place, the vocal organs 

 must be strengthened and developed by exercise. The excellent 

 maxim, Memoria excolendo augetur, which we learned from the 

 Latin grammar, is equally true of muscle, and a singer's thyro- 

 arytsenoidei should be in as good condition as a pugilist's biceps. 

 Such modes of life as are good for the general health will also 

 help to improve the voice by expanding the chest and keeping all 

 the organs at their maximum of efficiency. In order to " know 

 the stops " of the vocal instrument, so as to be able to " command 

 it to any utterance of harmony," training must be directed to each 

 of the three factors of voice. The art of so governing the breath 

 that not a particle of it shall escape without giving up its mechan- 

 ical equivalent of sound must first of all be acquired. The vocal 

 cords must use the breath as Jacob did the angel with whom 

 he wrestled ; they must not suffer it to depart till it has blessed 

 them. The first thing the singer has to do is to learn to breathe ; 

 he must fill his lungs without gasping, and empty them quickly 

 or slowly, gently or with violence, according to his needs. Much 

 has been written on this matter with which I need not perplex the 

 reader. The problem is how the lungs can be replenished most 

 advantageously for the purposes of the singer. The chest is ex- 

 panded by pulling up the ribs, and by pushing down the dia- 

 phragm, or muscular partition which separates the chest from the 

 abdomen. In violent inspiratory effort the collar-bone may be 

 forcibly drawn up by the muscles attached to it, but this mechan- 

 ism is seldom brought into play except in the dire struggle for 

 breath when suffocation is impending. It is a curious fact that 



