4:4:4: HANDBOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY. 



the notes have nearly all the same pitch as in ordinary speaking; the 

 variety of the sounds of speech being due to articulation in the mouth. 

 In speaking, however, occasional syllables generally receive a higher in- 

 tonation for the sake of accent. The second mode of sequence is the suc- 

 cessive transition from high to low notes, and vice versa, without inter- 

 vals; such as is heard in the sounds, which, as expressions of passion, 

 accompany crying in men, and in the howling and whining of dogs. 

 The third mode of sequence of the vocal sounds is the musical, in which 

 each sound has a determinate number of vibrations, and the numbers of 

 the vibrations in the successive sounds have the same relative proportions 

 that characterize the notes of the musical scale. 



In different individuals this comprehends one, two, or three octaves. 

 In singers that is, in persons apt for singing it extends to two or three 

 octaves. But the male and female voices commence and end at different 

 points of the musical scale. The lowest note of the female voice is about 

 an octave higher than the lowest of the male voice; the highest note of 

 the female voice about an octave higher than the highest of the male. 

 The compass of the male and female voices taken together, or the entire 

 ^scale of the human voice, includes about four octaves. The principal 

 difference between the male and female voice is, therefore, in their pitch; 

 but they are also distinguished by their tone, the male voice is not so 

 soft. The voice presents other varieties besides that of male and female; 

 there are two kinds of male voice, technically called the bass and tenor, 

 and two kinds of female voice, the contralto and soprano, all differing 

 from each other in tone. The bass voice usually reaches lower than 

 the tenor", and its strength lies in the low notes; while the tenor 

 voice extends higher than the bass. The contralto voice has generally 

 lower notes than the soprano, and is strongest in the lower notes of the 

 female voice; while the soprano voice reaches higher in the scale. But 

 the difference of compass, and of power in different parts of the scale, is 

 not the essential distinction between the different voices; for bass singers 

 can sometimes go very high, and the contralto frequently sings the high 

 notes like soprano singers. The essential difference between the bass 

 and tenor voices, and between the contralto and soprano, consists in 

 their tone or "timbre," which distinguishes them even when they are 

 singing the same note.' The qualities of the barytone and mezzo-soprano 

 voices are less marked; the barytone being intermediate between the 

 bass and tenor, the mezzo-soprano between the contralto and soprano. 

 They have also a middle position as to pitch in the scale of the male 

 and female voices. 



The different pitch of the male and the female voices depends on the 

 different length of the vocal chords in the two sexes; their relative 

 length in men and women being as three to two. The difference of the 

 two voices in tone or " timbre," is owing to the different nature and 



