502 VOICE AND SPEECH. 



" The glottis at this moment presents the aspect of a line 

 swelled toward its middle, the length of which diminishes 

 still more as the voice ascends. We shall also see that the 

 cavity of the larynx has become very small, and that the 

 superior ligaments have contracted the extent of the ellipse 

 to less than one-half." 



These observations, have been in the main confirmed by 

 Battaille, 1 Emma Seiler, 8 and all who have applied the la- 

 ryngoscope to the study of the voice in singing. A few 

 years ago we had an opportunity of observing the changes 

 in th'e form of the glottis during the production of vocal 

 sounds of different degrees of pitch, through the kindness of 

 Dr. Ephraim Cutter, of Boston. In these experiments the 

 various points to which we have alluded were illustrated by 

 autolaryngoscopy in the most marked manner ; and nothing 

 could be more striking than the changes in the form of the 

 glottis in the transition from low to high notes. We have 

 also frequently observed the general appearance of the glottis 

 in phonation in experiments upon animals in which the glottis 

 has been exposed to view. 



Variations in the Quality of the Voice, depending upon 

 differences in the Size and Form of the Larynx and the 

 Vocal Chords. We are all sufficiently familiar with the 

 characters of the male as distinguished from the female 

 voice, and what are known as the different vocal registers. 

 In childhood, the general characters of the voice are essen- 



1 Loc. cit. 



2 EMMA SEILER, TJie Voice in Singing, translated from the German, Phila- 

 delphia, 1868. This little work contains the results of a series of observations 

 on the voice, made after the method employed by Garcia. These are peculiarly 

 interesting, as they are applied particularly to the study of the female voice, 

 and elucidate certain disputed points with regard to the production of the fal- 

 setto and the head-voice. The whole subject of the voice is treated in an 

 eminently scientific manner, and the author professes to correct many faults in 

 the methods of teaching the art of singing, that have had their origin in the 

 employment of purely empirical methods. 



