400 



THE POPULAB EDUCATOR. 



voices. The tenors and baritones use them in the higher parts 

 of their voices. A baritone wishing to sing a tenor " part," 

 must necessarily have recourse to his softer throat voice, else he 

 will produce hard, iviry tones, very unpleasant when contrasted 

 with the soft, round chest tones of the tenor voice. The same 

 remark applies to second sopranos singing the air or soprano 

 " part." Conductors of choirs should be exceedingly careful in 

 this matter, if they would secure a good blending of the vocal 

 mass. 



The head tones are exclusively used by the sopranos. In men 

 all authorities agree these head tones are effeminate and 

 disagreeable. Garcia says that the head register is not improved 

 by much exercise. Nearly all men speak in the chest voice. 

 Nearly all women, including the contraltos, speak in the throat 

 voice ; and the cries of women and children are in the head 

 voice. Teachers should be warned against allowing boys' 

 voices to be forced upwards in the chest register. Garcia says 

 that this often occasions the loss of voice in chorus children. 

 At "the change of voice" in boys, their voices should have 

 entire rest, often for a full year. Many voices, says Bassini, 

 are irretrievably ruined by the neglect of this precaution. 

 Bassini recommends the following test exercise to tenors, bari- 

 tones, and contraltos, for the discovery of the throat register. 

 The third tone, sung piano, is almost sure to be delivered with 

 the throat voice. Then, having once found that register, it is 

 easy to keep it in the descending phrase. 

 pp. 



KEY C. 

 d:- 



--sf 

 THROAT .., .. CHEST. 



pp. 



:- s:f m:r d:- d:- 



Use of the Registers. As the registers produce different 

 qualities of tone, it is better, when you have commenced a musical 

 phrase in one register, to conclude it in the same. If this is not 

 possible, then care should be taken, in passing from one register 

 to the other, to maintain regularity in volume of tone. Bassini's 

 rule is : in ascending phrases, when you have begun with the 

 chest register, keep it ; in descending phrases, keep the throat 

 register. 



The voices of women and children are commonly called 

 "treble voices." The highest female voice is often called simply 

 "soprano," and the second voice is then called the "mezzo 

 soprano." The " part " adapted to the second soprano or 

 contralto is sometimes called the " seconds.' 1 The " alto " is a 

 very high man's voice, reaching very nearly to the lowest of 

 women's voices, which is called, on that account, the contralto. 

 But the two voices differ greatly in character the one being 

 light and flexible, the other not so. 



Every pupil should mark the extent of his own voice on the 

 scale above given at the side of the page. 



The pupils need scarcely be warned against the common fool- 

 ishness of boasting " how high they can sing." Let them 

 remember that God has made their voices differently ; that it is 

 the honour of some to sing the lower parts for which their 

 voices were made, as it is of others to sing the higher parts ; 

 and that the medium sounds of every voice are not only its 

 easiest, but its very best. 



Vocal music is commonly so written that several melodies 

 may be sung together each melody being adapted, in its com- 

 pass, to one particular voice. The leading (or most striking) 

 melody is almost invariably, and very properly, that which 

 is sung by the highest voice. Each of these concurring 

 melodies is called a " part ; " the highest is commonly called 

 the "air." 



Those who sing in parts should seek to attune their voices 

 one to the other, and to maintain the several parts with an 

 equal volume of voice, so that one part may not overpower the 

 others. Each singer should also take care to sing the part 

 proper to his own voice. 



We have music "in two parts," written for soprano and 

 contralto voices, or for tenor and bass (like the exercises in 

 this work), or for soprano and bass; music "in three parts," 

 written for three equal voices" (that is, for three female or 

 three male voices), or for soprano, contralto, and baritone, or 

 for soprano, tenor, or bass, etc.; music "in four parts," for 



soprano, contralto, tenor, and bass, etc. (like most psalin tunes); 

 also music in five, six, and eight parts. 



There is no harmony more perfect than the " concord of sweet 

 voices." "All musicians knew," says General Thompson, "tlitb 

 by practising together, and, as it were, mutually rubbing down 

 each other's asperities and defects, a quartett of performers on 

 instruments of the viol kind arrived at a perfection of execution 

 in point of harmony, or what is popularly called ' being in tune,' 

 which nothing could excel, and no known thing, except aquartett 

 of singers, equal. In short, there was no doubt that by follow- 

 ing the directions of the ear as to what was most harmonious, 

 and each labouring to accommodate the other with this common 

 object in view, they did practically break in upon the thing so 

 much sought for under the title of correct harmony. . 

 But nobody could tell what it was they did." The General then 

 shows that the thing they did was to sing or play notes which 

 were mathematically correct according to the scale which the 

 human ear requires to free themselves from the temperament of 

 keyed instruments and to observe the double form of KAY 

 which he calls its " duplicity." Let the singer make full use 

 of the advantage he thus possesses. 



The " balancing " of parts is important. . For a congregation 

 containing every kind of voice, music in four parts soprano, 

 contralto, tenor, and bass is most appropriate. The second 

 soprano and the baritone voices, in such music, would have to join 

 with the parts above or below according to convenience. But 

 in the Sabbath-school, where the immense preponderance of 

 voice is that of females and children, to divide the voice of the 

 male teachers into bass and tenor would make them out of all 

 proportion weak. A far better distribution and more equal 

 volume of voice is obtained by using music written in three 

 parts two for the voices of females and children, and one (of 

 medium compass) for the united voices of the men. A similar 

 proportion is desirable for boys' schools with a master, but the 

 parts should be so written that the two upper melodies may bo 

 harmonious when the bass is absent. In girls' schools music in 

 two parts is desirable. If, for Sabbath-schools, the two men's 

 parts are retained, they should be very simple and " steady,'' 

 sounding rather like an accompaniment than like " parts." 



After these explanations, it is scarcely necessary to warn the 

 pupil against the absurd practice of women attempting to sing 

 the tenor, or that of males sullying, with their tenor or baritone 

 voices, the purity and brightness of the " air." If men are 

 obliged to pitch the air of a tune, let them do so ; but let them 

 leave the women '' to sing it, while they return to the part 

 which is proper to their own voices." 



In " leading " a tune, it is advisable first to let all the school 

 or congregation distinctly hear the key-note. If necessary, the 

 first note or two (not more) may be sung by the leader in the 

 " air." The leader should then take his own part. He will find 

 himself able to keep up the pitch or the rate of movement much 

 better by means of a firm bass or a clear tenor, both well accented, 

 than by singing the air, however loudly or however angrily. 

 When a "clerk" or "precentor" will sing the "air," it takes 

 the spirit from the female voices ; but if, perchance, for a line, 

 he leaves them to themselves, they seem to rise with new vigour, 

 sweetness, and brilliancy. 



A good enunciation of words is most important to the singer. 

 He cannot use that accent and inflection on each word which so 

 much help us to distinguish the words of the speaker, however 

 badly uttered. It is therefore the more necessary for the singer, . 

 if he would be " intelligible and edifying," to use an articulation 

 strong, distinct, and correct. Care should be taken to make 

 the vowel sounds most clear and accurate, and to deliver the 

 consonants both quickly and forcibly. 



For this purpose, the words should be read aloud by the 

 teacher, so as to show the feeling and proper expression belong- 

 ing to them, and to exhibit a " pattern " of good utterance. 

 This the class should imitate, in one voice, taking the teacher's 

 pattern line by line. The practice of reading together in a loud 

 whisper will be found very conducive to the end sought. 



It will sometimes be convenient to shorten a note when it 

 falls on an ill-sounding syllable, and sometimes to throw the 

 sound of a final consonant on to the following word. 



If we were to pursue this important subject further, we should 

 be tempted into a course of lessons on elocution, which would be 

 beyond our province here. 



(The Exercise* attached to this Lesson will be given in our next. ) 



