on the articulation of each word, I shall be perfectly audible even in the remotest part of this hall, but you will perceive in my reading that all the mistakes I am now pointing out and warning you against, have precisely the same results. Whether I only half fill my lungs with air, or whether I take the inspiration by the mouth, or whether I suffer the lips to be open for a second or two before I begin to read or speak, I shall equally injure the fulness of tone. What musicians call roundness of voice will be in a great measure gone; it will sound comparatively thin and flat, and you will hear that the power of conveying with anything like due effect the various passions or emotions portrayed in the piece which I am about to read, is almost entirely destroyed.

I will then read the same passage, taking care to inflate the lungs adequately, and properly economise the supply of breath I have thus obtained, and you will hear how very differently the whole of it will sound.*

I am inclined to think that these occasional practical illustrations in my own person, as I proceed with my course of Lectures, will serve materially to explain my reasoning, and tend perhaps more than anything else to fix the principles I am laying down firmly in your

memories.

A passage from one of Burke's speeches was here read by way of illustration.

LECTURE VII.

Analysis of the elements of the Human Voice-Professor Hullah's suggestions in regard to the best mode of Developing and Cultivating the Speaking VoiceDifferent degrees of Aperture of the Mouth and the Shape taken by the Lips for the pure Sound of the different Vowels-Herr Georges' method of ascertaining these-İllustration of the positions of the Lips, by Signor Lanza-Classification of Voices-Causes of the different Classes of Voices-Philosophy of Sound and its Phenomena-Chladni's Experiments-Causes that produce the different degrees of Intensity of Sound, Pitch, Tone, and Timbre-Range of Human Perception in regard to Sound-The Telephone, Phonograph, Microphone, Phoneidoscope, and Audiphone-Difference between Sound and Noise-Resemblance and differences between the Music of Speech and the Music of Song.

W

E have now, I hope, arrived at a fair understanding of the marvellous mechanism and process by which the human voice is produced. Let us next proceed to analyse the subject of voice in some degree at least, and inquire of what its elements consist. It is obvious that words are composed of vowels and consonants, and very rarely of vowels only. "Though it be not without exception true," remarks Professor Hullah, in the work I mentioned in my last lecture, "that consonants have no individual phonetic existence, it is certain that vowels have; that consonants are practically initiatory, distributive, or interruptory only, indeed, altogether dependent on vowels; and that of necessity, therefore, vowels are pre-eminently the sounds of speech (consonants being rather the noises) and form the sole element in it which admits of any appreciable variety of pitch, duration, intensity, or timbre. As it is in the utterance of vowels alone that we can estimate the voice, whether of speaker or singer, so it must be through their instrumentality exclusively, in the first instance, that we can hope to develop its sweetness and power, whether in speaking, reading, or singing. Not only so: on one vowel only is the timbre of the human voice to be heard in its highest perfection, the vowel A, as pronounced in the English word 'Father.' During the perfect utterance of this vowel, the teeth will be at least sufficiently apart to admit of the insertion of a finger between them; the tongue will lie along the bottom of the mouth, its tip resting on the lower teeth, and forming a curve corresponding to that presented by the roof of the mouth. If the teeth be not sufficiently apart, the timbre

will want resonance and openness; if the tongue be not sufficiently advanced, or if it approach the roof of the mouth too nearly, it will also want purity, become guttural or nasal. This last imperfection may likewise be produced by extravagant retrocession of the corners of the lips.

"Recent physiological researches have justified the choice of the long open A, not merely as the vowel on which the voice is heard to the greatest advantage, but also as that on which, with a view to its improvement, it should be most frequently exercised. Professor Willis has shown that by setting a reed in a state of vibration, and gradually elongating the tube which augments and governs its sounds, a series of sounds closely resembling in their timbre the vowels E A (narrow, as in the word day) A (open) O and OO, as in the word coo-is produced. In like manner, the tube which augments and governs the vocal mechanism-the mouth-is, so to speak, elongated as the vowels are uttered in the above order; ie., more and more of it is brought into operation, E being formed at the back of the mouth; OO at the most advanced part of it, indeed by the lips almost exclusively, whilst the open A proceeds from the centre, where the utmost resonance is possible. This discovery not only justifies the choice of the open A as the vowel on which the voice should be first and most exercised; but also suggests the order in which the practice of the other vowels should be taken up. As the open A is formed in the central position of the oval tube, so are O and the narrow A in that nearest to it, the former involving the employment of more of the tube than the latter.

"To the utterance of these vowels on the dominant notes-those nearest to the middle of his voice-now fully sustaining them, now attacking them suddenly and quitting them in like manner, at various degrees of intensity, the student should devote a good deal of his time and his very best attention. He should begin with, and often return to the practice of, the open A; begin with it because it is the easiest, and return to it because experience has shown it to be the most useful. The practice of the open A had best be followed by that of O, and that of O by that of the narrow A. OO had better follow, and E, incomparably the most difficult, be attacked last. The maintenance of the proper degree of adjustment of the variable cavity of the mouth and lips may be tested from time to time by the eye, with the aid of a looking-glass; and that of the pitch, by an occasional reference to a musical instrument."

So much for the judicious remarks of Professor Hullah.

Whilst we are considering the different vowels, or, in other words, the elements of voice, a most important subject, for on them only can inflection and modulation take place in elocution, and the different notes of the musical scale in song, I may mention here, that a very excellent and ingenious German teacher of singing, Herr Georges, has lately brought into notice a simple mechanical, instrument which he has invented, and used with great success among his pupils, for the purpose of making them acquainted with the different degrees of aperture which the mouth should have for the pure formation of the different

vowels, which, I need hardly repeat, ought to be formed, so far as regards purity of sound, exactly in the same manner, whether in song or in elocution.

The instrument is a little ivory wedge, of the size and shape subjoined.

Fig. 13.

The mode in which it is to be used is to apply it to the position of an upright triangle, as in the illustration. The notched line may be called the hypotenuse. The distances for the various degrees of aperture of the mouth are measured by the perpendiculars, from any given point in the hypotenuse to the base of the wedge. The latter is inserted between the upper and lower front teeth, and the teacher determines the respective distances for the various vowels; for, as we all know, the size of the human mouth varies very much in different individuals, and the notch that would suit one person for the pure production of a given vowel, such, for instance, as the open A, would not suit another if his mouth were materially larger or smaller. The ear and judgment of the master, therefore, must determine what notch in the wedge is proper for each pupil. As a general rule, the scale subjoined will hold good in most instances.

The open A, as in the word "father," should, as Professor Hullah says, be the first vowel practised, and for its pure formation the range is from notch 10 to 14. The position of the tongue and other particulars have already been given in my quotation from Professor's Hullah's little work. For the vowel O, as in the word "rose," the variation in the opening of the mouth is from notch 8 to 12. In its pure production, moreover, the lips assume a globular or elliptical shape, something like the form of the letter itself, and also slightly protrude. The position of the mouth in the production of O is particularly favourable for resonance, as the cavity obtained is neither too small nor too large. In the true formation of this vowel, the tongue is somewhat raised and slightly drawn back, remaining in a spread position, and the edges of the upper and lower teeth require just to be visible, in order to prevent the soft substance of the lips from absorbing the sound. The shape of the mouth being ascertained, great care should be taken to continue the form during the whole time the vowel is dwelt on. This remark holds good, indeed, with icgard to all the vowel sounds; for the slightest deviation is felt, E being very liable to merge into the narrow A, and the open A into O, and I into E, and a very minute change in the

opening of the mouth or the position of the tongue or lips will effect this modification.

In the formation of the narrow A, or in the gamut of long E, which is sounded like A in the word "pale," the range of the wedge is from notch 4 to 6, and in its formation the lips have to be fairly open and extended a little laterally; the apex of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, and its tip pressed gently against the lower front teeth.

In the production of E, or in the gamut I, and pronounced like ee in the word "see," the form of the mouth resembles that of a narrow A, in speech, or E in the gamut, but the lips, however, require to be more laterally extended and the tongue raised a little higher. It is said to be the most troublesome of all the vowels to form quite purely, and very apt to merge into the sound of others; but it only requires a little attention to the right mode of its production, and perseverance in its practice, to easily overcome the difficulty which its formation presents.

Last of all, we come to the vowel U, in the gamut sounded as oo in the word "moon," and for its proper formation the range of the wedge is from notch 6 to 8; and the most eminent teachers advise that its right sound should be acquired by taking first O, and, as it were, gliding into it, by protruding the lips a little more, narrowing the aperture of the mouth, and drawing down the tongue.

If the formation of these vowels be carefully studied and practised, the ear will soon become sufficiently trained to acquire easily every modification of vowel sound that the right pronunciation of words may require, whether in speech or song.

You will have noticed that for the pure sound of the different vowels to be heard, it is not merely sufficient that the mouth should be open to the requisite degree, but the proper position of the lips must also be borne in mind.

The subjoined illustrations, designed by the celebrated Italian

singing master, Signor Gesualdo Lanza, and for which I am indebted to Herr Georges, will serve to show what these positions are.