made when the breath is being taken in, and that with exhalation there is relaxation and a sense of relief. 3. Now stand erect, and with hands in the same position as in exercises 1 and 2, breathe as before. If the action is not the same as when you were lying down, repeat 1 and 2, then try the standing exercise again. When you are lying down watch what the actions and muscular sensations are, how easy the movements are; then in the standing position let yourself breathe just as easily and in the same way as when lying down. Continue these exercises until you breathe as normally when in a standing position as when lying flat. This may be accomplished with the first attempt, or it may take a week. In any event, keep trying until you breathe as you should, which means, with the action of the diaphragm. 4. After you are able to breathe well when standing, take an easy, not too full, breath, holding it for five counts; ten counts; fifteen counts; twenty counts. Be sure to relax well after each attempt. When you take breath for the higher numbers, see to it that you do not return to the high chest breathing and in so doing permit the diaphragm to quit work. 5. Take deep breathing exercises in the open air, or in a wellventilated room, two or three times a day. Here are some. (a) With body held erect and arms hanging loosely at the sides, throw out all the breath, then inhale deeply through the nostrils and, as you do So, raise your arms at the sides, stretching them out as far as you can, and bring them well up over your head. When the hands are over your head see that the palms are up. Hold the position while you mentally count five. Drop the arms slowly, exhaling as you do so. Repeat and hold while you count ten; fifteen; twenty. (b) Manage the breath as before and bring the arms up in front, extending them well out and up. Hold and count as in the preceding exercise. (c) Place the hands at the chest with elbows held up, throw out the breath, inhale slowly, unfold the arms, and extend them out and back as far as you can. Repeat, counting silently as in (a) and (b) above. (d) With hands hanging at the sides, take a deep breath, hold it firmly, bring up the hands and strike the chest rapidly and lightly. Strike well up and down and around to the sides. In taking this exercise do not hold the breath more than five or ten seconds and, if you are not used to it, do not repeat the exercises more than twice at any given time. Exercises for ease at the throat After you are able to control the action of the diaphragm with considerable ease, begin the following exercises. 6. Stand erect, with head easily poised, open the mouth as you do for saying "ha," take an easy breath through the mouth 1 and, without moving the jaw or tongue or throat, exhale through the mouth rather slowly, allowing a second or two for it. Repeat this three or four times to make sure that there is no action of the jaw, lips, or tongue. 7. Now take the breath, as in exercise 6, begin to exhale a before, but after the breath is well started, merge it gradually into the easiest possible tone, "ha," prolonging the sound a second. Make this tone so easily that you are not aware of any effort whatever in the throat. Do not move the tongue or jaw, but leave all muscles completely relaxed. If the tone has a hard, metallic, or rasping sound, it is not being made easily enough. Try again and again, using plenty of breath, until the tone is soft and smooth. Place the fingers on the larynx, or Adam's apple, and see that there is no tightening or lifting just as the tone begins. Repeat this exercise until you are able to blend the breath into tone without perceptible effort or action above the diaphragm. 8. Take the same exercise (number 7), but, instead of allowing breath to pass out before the tone is started, initiate the 1 When one is speaking, most of the breathing is done through the mouth. In the act of speaking one finds it awkward to close the lips or to raise the tongue at the back to keep the air from passing through the mouth. If you wish to demonstrate this, try reading aloud or speaking several sentences, taking pains to inhale each new breath through the nostrils, and notice how unusual the action is. Many vocal exercises require mouth breathing, but let it not be understood that such breathing is encouraged when the voice is not being used. Always breathe through the nostrils when not speaking. tone at once, keeping the same open, soft quality. Try the exercise on different pitches, beginning with the pitch you have been holding; then sound the first note above; the second above; and so on for four or five notes. Descend the scale to the original pitch. Prolong these tones two or three seconds, using a good deal of breath with free action of the diaphragm. 9. Repeat exercise 8, and, as the tone is held, gradually increase the volume. Prolong the sound five or six seconds. Try the exercise on various pitches. Do not allow the quality of the tone to change with the increasing loudness. Avoid hard or rasping sounds. 66 66 66 10. Observe the same conditions as in exercise 9, but, instead of making the sound "ha," begin with "hō," holding the tone as before and increasing the volume gradually, but as the volume increases slowly merge hō" into "a" (as in arm) thus, “hō-a." Hold the sound six or eight seconds. Practice the exercise on various notes of the scale, but do not try extreme pitches. With the transition from "hō" to "a" see that the action of the jaw, tongue, and lips is very simple and easy. Let the tongue lie quiet in the bottom of the mouth out of the way, the tip of it resting against the lower front gums, as it lies after speaking “là.” 11. Sing the scale from low to high notes, and back again, using the vowels but beginning the series each time with “¿,” thus, à ā ē iōū. Sing them as one continuous sound, blending one into the other without interruption of the tone. In this, as in all the above exercises, see that the tone is produced with as much ease at the throat as when you were merging the breath into tone (exercise 7). The action of the tongue and jaw in forming the different vowels should be very easy and free. 66 66 2. Clearness of tone. In the foregoing set of exercises you will have noticed that the tones of your voice were not altogether clear or pure or sweet, but were somewhat breathy. Though they were easily made, too much breath was used for the production of the best kind of tone, and not all the breath which passed through the larynx was vocalized. The purpose of this, as has been made evident, was to secure complete ease and freedom of the throat, by taking the tension away from the muscles there and putting it at the diaphragm and waist muscle where it belongs. But in the production of the best tone comparatively little breath is allowed to pass out during vocalization. Clearness and purity of voice is determined largely by the amount of breath held in reserve to support, or back up, the tone. When you are able to breathe with free action of the diaphragm, and to produce tone through a well relaxed throat, the following exercises may be undertaken : 12. Stand in an easy upright position, with shoulders and arms relaxed and head easily poised; take a fairly full breath, hold firmly at the diaphragm, and prolong the vowel “ō” on a note of middle pitch. Hold the tone ten seconds; fifteen seconds; twenty seconds; and so on, emptying the lungs and taking a good breath after each trial. Hold the back of the hand close to the mouth when making the tone, and allow no breath to be felt blowing against it. 66 13. Sit, and, holding a full breath, speak "pō-pȧ" on a monotone, merging the first syllable into the second without interrupting the tone. Use about two seconds for the sounds. Hold back all the breath you can, and be sure that none escapes before tone is initiated. Relax and take a fresh breath after each couplet. Try the exercise on various notes of the scale. Now fill the lungs to their full capacity, have a sense of holding all you have taken, and repeat the couplet three times without replenishing the breath. Repeat on different pitches. When filling the lungs to their capacity, see to it that the shoulders are not raised or lowered. The shoulders should be held normally, never thrown back with an effort, and never allowed to rise and fall with inhalation and exhalation. Test yourself in this by repeating exercises and speaking before a mirror. 14. Hold the vowel "ō" (or "å") as long as you can on one note. Practice the sound on all notes of the scale within your easy range. If you are not accustomed to holding the 66 breath, you may be unable to hold the tone more than ten or fifteen seconds, at first. Try each day to increase the time. As you gain skill in reserving breath you will be able to hold the sound much longer, perhaps for thirty or forty seconds, or even a minute, but the effort should never be carried to a point of physical discomfort. 15. Read the following stanza, making clear, pure, mellow tones, wholly free from the sound of escaping breath. Relax and replenish the breath at the end of the first and second lines, and after "beyond" in the third. Repeat the lines several times, endeavoring each time to hold the breath better than before and to make the tones purer and clearer. Above the pines the moon was slowly drifting, The river sang below; The dim Sierras, far beyond, uplifting Their minarets of snow. Bret Harte: Dickens in Camp. 16. Read the appended extract, sustaining the breath throughout each line. Speak the lines with spirit, making the tone clear, buoyant, and joyous. Joy, joy, joy in the height and the deep; Joy like the joy of a leaf that unfolds to the sun; Joy in the holiest, joy evermore, evermore. Richard Hovey: The Taliesin. 3. Resonance and fullness of tone, Voice does not issue from the larynx full-formed and complete, but, as explained in a preceding chapter (pp. 203–04), quality, fullness, and richness of tone are largely determined in the resonance chambers of the throat, the mouth, and the nasal cavities. The best tone can be produced only when all resonance chambers of throat and head are roomy and free from obstruction. An attack of tonsillitis, or a cold in the head, interferes seriously with the voice. Much of the thinness, |