THE VOICE 327 



from the lungs. When the note is high, the space is dimin- 

 ished both in length and width ; but when it is low, the space 

 is wid^" and longer (Fig. 75, B, c), and the number of vibra- 

 tions is few e - within the same period of time. 



11. The personal quality of the voice, or that which enables 

 us to recognize a person by his speech, is mainly due to the 

 peculiar shape of the throat, nose, and mouth, and the reso- 

 nance Of the air contained within those cavities. The walls of 

 the chest and the trachea take part in the resonance of the 

 voice, the air within them vibrating at the same time with 

 the parts above -them. This may be tested by touching the 

 throat or breast-bone, when a strong vocal effort is made. The 

 teeth and the lips also are important, as is shown by the 

 unnatural tones emitted by a person who has lost the former, 

 or by one who is affected with the deformity known as " hare- 

 lip." The tongue is useful, but not indispensable to speech; 

 the case of a woman is reported, from whom nearly the whole 

 tongue had been torn out, but who could, nevertheless, speak 

 distinctly and even sing. 



12. The Varieties of voice are said to be four in number; 

 two, the bass and tenor, belonging to the male sex ; and two, 

 the contralto or alto, and soprano, peculiar to the female. The 

 baritone voice is the name given to a variety intervening 

 between the bass and tenor. In man, the voice is strong and 

 heavy ; in woman, soft and high. In infancy and early youth, 

 the voice is the same in both sexes, being of the soprano 

 variety : that of boys is both clear and loud, and being sus- 

 ceptible of considerable training, is highly prized in the choral 

 services of the church and cathedral. At about fourteen years 

 of age the voice is said to change that is, it becomes hoarse 

 and unsteady by reason of the rapid growth of the larynx. In 

 the case of the girl, the change is not very marked, except 

 that the voice becomes stronger and has a wider compass ; but 

 in the boy, the larynx neaily doubles its size in a single year, 

 the vocal cords grow thicker, longer, and coarser, and the voice 



11. To what is the personal quality of the voice mainly due ? What aids are there? 



12. Varieties of voice ? The baritone ? The voice in early youth ? 



