492 MUSCULAR MOTION. 



three. Some singers can descend sixteen tones below, others can rise 

 sixteen above, the medium. The former are called tenor bass; the 

 latter soprano; but hitherto no example has- occurred of a person, who 

 could run through the thirty notes. 



The musician establishes certain distinctions in the voice; such as 

 counter, tenor, treble, bass, &c. We find it, also, differing considerably 

 in strength, sweetness, flexibility, &C. 1 



The singing voice, according to M. Bennati, 2 is not limited to the 

 larynx, the pharynx being likewise concerned. The voice, produced 

 in those two different parts, has long been termed voce di petto, and 

 voce di testa. M. Bennati calls the former laryngeal notes or notes of the 

 first register ; the latter supra-laryngeal or notes of the second register ; 

 and M. Lepelletier designates them laryngeal and pharyngeal respect- 

 ively; comprising, in the dependencies of the pharynx, the tongue, 

 tonsils, and velum palati, by means of which the latter class of sounds 

 is elicited. The laryngeal voice, which is always more elevated by an 

 octave in the female than the male, is most commonly met with. It 

 furnishes the types called, 1. Alt or soprano ; 2. Counteralt; 3. Tenor; 

 4. Tenor Bass. The pharyngeal voice presents only modifications of 

 these types. It is met with in but few persons in its finest develope- 

 ment. It has usually been supposed to be formed by the superior 

 ligaments of the larynx, or in the ventricles; but these gentlemen 

 esteem it demonstrated, that it is formed at the guttural aperture, cir- 

 cumscribed by the base of the tongue, velum palati, its pillars, and the 

 tonsils. By it is produced the laritenor, the contraltino tenor, and the 

 soprano sfogato. Bennati concludes his memoir on the human voice 

 by remarking, that not only are the muscles of the larynx inservient 

 to the modulation of the notes of song, but those of the os hyoides, 

 tongue, and the superior, anterior, and posterior part of the vocal tube 

 are called into action, without the simultaneous and properly associated 

 operation of which the degree of modulation requisite for song could 

 not take place. 



When the voice is raised in the scale from grave to acute, a corre- 

 sponding elevation takes place in the larynx towards the base of the 

 cranium. By placing the finger on the pomum Adami, this motion can 

 be easily felt; at the same time, the thyroid cartilage is drawn up 

 within the os hyoides, and presses on the epiglottis ; the small space 

 between the thyroid and cricoid closes ; the pharynx is contracted ; the 

 velum pendulum depressed and carried forwards; the tonsils approach 

 each other ; and the uvula is folded on itself. The reverse of these 

 phenomena takes place during the descent of the voice. 3 



It has been already remarked, that the natural voice or cry is con- 

 nected with the organization of the larynx. So far as it can be modified 

 into tones independently of the participation of the intellect, a natural 

 singing voice may be said to exist. To repeat, however, any song, 

 requires both ear and intelligence ; and, therefore, singing may be said 



1 Magendie's Jour, de Physiologic, x. 179. 



Recherches sur le Mecanisme de la Voix Humaine, Paris, 1832. 



8 Bishop and Bennati, in op. cit. 



