CHAP, xxxi.] SINGING. 443 



a change which necessarily follows must take place, if they are to 

 produce a similar note, by vibrating only along half their length. 



Singing. In singing, a certain succession of tones is produced 

 in definite order by altering the character of the glottis, just as by 

 varying the conditions under which the air is thrown into vibra- 

 tions in musical instruments we are enabled to alter the nature of 

 the note. 



The different varieties of the voice are arranged according to the 

 pitch, which depends upon the length and other conditions of the 

 vocal ligaments, and they are comprised in the following classes : 

 Bass, Tenor, Alto or Contralto, Soprano ; the two former belonging 

 to the male, and the two latter to the female sex. Besides these, 

 the Barytone is placed between the Bass and Tenor, and the mezzo- 

 Soprano between the Soprano and Contralto. The compass of the 

 voice varies from one to three octaves. Few singers possess a 

 greater range of voice than the latter, but some of the most cele- 

 brated have much exceeded this Catalani's voice included three 

 and a half octaves. The compass of each kind of voice is shown 

 in the following table : 



SOPRANO. 



CONTRALTO. 



I I 



CDEFGABC^E 1 F 1 G 1 A 1 B 1 



I I 



BASS. 



TENOR. 



Before puberty, the pitch of the male and female voice is nearly 

 the same; but at this period the larynx of the male becomes 

 larger and more prominent, and the vocal ligaments elongated, in 

 virtue of which changes the pitch falls an octave in extent. In 

 eunuchs this alteration does not take place, and they retain the 

 puerile character of voice, which is, nevertheless, louder and 

 stronger than in women. In men, the vocal chords are one-third 

 longer than in women, and the larynx is altogether much larger. 



Unlike musical instruments, the human voice is capable of pro- 

 ducing a vast number of notes, intermediate between the successive 

 tones; and Dodart estimates the number of these which can be 

 appreciated by the ear at three hundred. 



Influence of the Nerves on Voice. The inferior laryngeal and the 

 crico-thyroid branch of the superior laryngeal, from the pneu mo- 

 gastric, are the sole channels through which the operations of the 

 will affect the mechanism concerned in the production of the 



G G 2 



