THE QUALITY OF THE VOICE 489 



Some remarkable musical voices have had a range of three and a half octaves. 

 A principal difference between the male and female voice is, therefore, in their 

 pitch. But they are also distinguished by the quality of the tone. The voices 

 of men and of women differ among themselves, both in the general pitch and 

 in the quality. There are two kinds of male voices, technically called the bass 

 and tenor, and two of female voices, the contralto and soprano, all differing from 

 each other in general pitch. The bass voice reaches lower than the tenor, 

 and its strength lies in the low notes. The contralto voice is lower range than 

 the soprano, and is strongest in the lower notes of the female voice. The 

 barytone and mezzo-soprano voices are intermediate in range; the barytone 

 being intermediate between bass and tenor, the mezzo-soprano between the 

 contralto and soprano. The difference in the pitch of the male and the female 

 voices depends primarily on the different size of the larynx and the length of 

 the vocal cords in the two sexes; their relative lengths in men and women are 

 as three to two. 



The boy's larynx resembles the female larynx. His vocal cords before 

 puberty are not two-thirds the length of the adult cords; and the angle of the 

 thyroid cartilage is as little prominent as in the female larynx. Boys' voices are 

 alto and soprano, resembling in pitch those of women, but louder, and differing 

 somewhat from them in tone. But, after the larynx has undergone the change 

 produced during the period of development at puberty, the boy's voice becomes 

 bass or tenor. While the change of form is taking place the voice becomes im- 

 perfect, frequently hoarse and crowing, and is unfitted for singing until the 

 readjustment of the larynx is complete and the muscles which control the vocal 

 cords are again coordinated. In eunuchs who have been deprived of the testes 

 before puberty, the voice does not undergo this change. The voice of most 

 old people is deficient in tone, unsteady, and more restricted in extent. The 

 first defect is owing to the ossification of the cartilages of the larynx and the 

 altered condition of the vocal cords; the want of steadiness arises from the 

 loss of nervous power and command over the muscles, the result of which is 

 here, as in other parts, a tremulous movement. These two causes combined 

 render the voices of old people void of tone, unsteady, and weak. 



Most persons have the power, if at all capable of singing, of modulating 

 their voices through a double series of notes of different character: namely, the 

 notes of the natural voice, or chest-notes, and the falsetto notes. The natural 

 voice, which alone has been hitherto considered, is fuller, and excites a dis- 

 tinct sensation of much stronger vibration and resonance than the falsetto 

 voice, which has mere of a flute-like character. 



The Quality of the Voice. The difference in quality of voices, 

 seen when two or more persons sound the same note, is due to differences in 

 resonance in the cavities of the mouth and larynx, also of the nose. The 

 shape of the roof of the mouth, the regularity of the teeth, and the size of the 

 tongue, and the size and clearness cf the nasopharynx are all factors. The 



