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PREFACE. |
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is the producing or making of the voice, the art of singing or elocution is the playing upon it; they are all three closely related, but each is distinct from the other.
The human vocal instrument is a delicate mechanism and will not admit of anything approaching strain. In the development of its muscles tension and rigidity must be avoided; flexibility must be the aim, not strength. This is also the case in the healthy development of any muscle; in fact the object of voice-training is the acquisition of the perfectly healthy action of that part of the body which is engaged in voice. What is good for the health of a part of the body is good for the body as a whole; each part is dependent for its well-being upon every other part. Hence the voice becomes a valuable and delicate index of what is perfect and what is imperfect in physical education; for even ordinary physical movements badly executed very soon exert an evil influence upon the voice, making it hard and unmusical.
The strictly orthodox procedure in voice-making should include:—
(1) The development of a flexible body as a whole by means of a form of physical education absolutely devoid of any movements of a stiffening character— a form of physical education that engenders (a) Grace of movement such as is evident in the very best forms of dancing, so well styled " the poetry of motion "; (b) Lightness and sprightliness of action, avoiding the jerk of discipline or the clumsiness of muscularity; and (c) General flexibility of all the muscles. There must be an absence of stiffness or tension in the fundamental positions or in any positions derived from them. The movements must be efficient and purposeful, but light and graceful. |
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