440 THE BODY AT WORK 



are not sound-producers, they can only add to the larynx- 

 tone, as " formants " of a vowel, its own harmonics sounds 

 which they have picked out of it it follows that, if, when the 

 prime is changed, the resonators were not adapted to the 

 new note, they would be dumb. If this attitude in regard to 

 the question be justified, there must be a certain amount of 

 variation in the quality of a vowel as the scale is ascended. 

 But a vowel is not a musical tone ; it is a conventional sound. 

 Its whole value depends upon its retaining, as nearly as may 

 be, the same quality, whatever be the pitch of its prime tone. 

 By adjusting the form of the throat and mouth, we can not 

 only prevent one vowel from passing into another, but we can 

 keep it so nearly true to itself as to convince the ear that its 

 quality is unchanged : oo remains oo, and ah ah, although 

 the form of the sound as produced on C $ is different to its 

 form when sung to C. 



Apart from the general distinction that low notes are taken 

 more easily with vowels requiring a large mouth-cavity, and 

 high notes with those providing a small one, there are certain 

 very distinct relations between vowel-sounds and musical tones 

 which need to be borne in mind in setting words to music. 

 A singer changes a word when he feels that its vowel-tone 

 does not allow him to give to the note to which it is set the 

 fullest expression of which he is capable. 



An account of the physiology of the production of con- 

 sonants is to be found in most text-books of grammar. 



