Remember (a) to retain the breath while making the sound, (b) to let the breath go the instant the sound ceases; (c) to keep the 'open, relaxed position of the throat and mouth during each series.

EXERCISE II.

Practise in the same way, sustaining the tone on a level as in singing.

EXERCISE III.

Practise with falling inflection.

These exercises should also be practised with the hands in the various positions indicated in Lesson IV., in order to be certain of the proper action of the breathing-apparatus.

TO THE TEACHER-At first the pupil should not be allowed to prolong the sound in any of these exercises beyond the time that would naturally be occupied in an ordinary interrogative slide. After practice, however, pupils should be drilled in sustained tones, with instrumental accompaniment if possible, until a fair amount of sustaining power is acquired. Watch carefully in all these exercises that the tone starts full and free and with precisely the same quality and volume at the beginning as during the continuation. See that the pupil conquers the tendency to shut the throat just before beginning. Do not work for noise but for good quality of tone. The tone should not be pushed out, but should seem almost to be drawn in from without. See that all activity is confined to the breathing-apparatus; it is the breath which governs the tone. After a time, practise with crescendo, diminuendo and swell-effects. In the very beginning I work only for the sense of perfect relaxation, paying no attention to the fact that the tone at first is sure to be unmusical, because badly placed. Afterward, but not until the habit of control by the breathing-apparatus exclusively is firmly fixed, I direct the pupil's attention to the quality of his voice, but making improvement so gradual that freedom is never sacrificed to anxiety for rapid prog

ress.

LESSON XI.

Articulation.

If we completely relax the jaw, lips, and tongue, opening the mouth just wide enough to let out the sound, and then vocalize in the most indifferent manner possible, we produce something between a grunt and the sound of u in hurt. The sound is indefiniteinarticulate. Very likely the earliest attempts at speech were little better than a series of such vague sounds, more or less modified by different positions of the jaw and tongue. As the race progressed in language-making these sounds became more clearly defined and further separated from one another; more delicate variations were introduced, the sounds were combined in various ways, until, at last, man possessed articulate language.

Articulation has been defined as "the correct and elegant delivery of the elementary sounds in syllables and words."

These are classified as vowels and consonants.

The VOWELS are the foundation-sounds of the language. They are formed by various positions of the tongue and lips, which modify but do not obstruct the

flow of sound. Ah (ä in fäther), ā, ē, ō, ōō are examples.

The CONSONANTS are formed by positions of the tongue, teeth, or lips, which, for the time, interfere with the vowel-sound. For example, if you press the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, as if to pronounce t or d, you will find it impossible to give a vowel-sound, ä, for instance. If, now, you allow the tongue to fall quickly back into its natural position just as you are about to say ä, you will get the combination tä or dä. It is this "recoil" of the tongue, as we call it, that makes the consonant distinct.

We begin our studies in articulation with the vowels. The tone as it comes from the larynx is molded into the various vowel-sounds by the different positions of the tongue and lips. The jaw always remains relaxed, although in some vowels it is not so wide. open as in others.

We have already practised some of the vowel-sounds; we shall now, however, take them up in regular order, beginning with ē, as in ēēl.

1. E is made with the forward part of the tongue near the roof of the mouth. The tongue is higher and the jaws are nearer together in forming this vowel than in any other. For this reason it is one of the most difficult sounds to give properly, that is, with good tone, since the tendency in most of us is to cramp the throat whenever the tongue is active. Ah is one of the easiest of vowel-sounds, and you will find it useful to

make first the sound ä or ō and in the same breath change to e, keeping the quality of voice the same and not allowing the back of the tongue to rise. In this vowel, as we have said, the jaw cannot open so widely as in the more open sounds. Let it take its natural position, without cramping it.

What is said here with regard to the throat, back of tongue and jaw, refers to other vowels as well, and is to be understood without further repetition.

2. If the middle of the tongue be very slightly depressed while pronouncing è, the sound becomes that of short I, as in ill. This sound is hard to sustain at first, as it tends to go back to long e. Practise until this tendency is overcome.

LESSON XII.

Flexibility.

Everyone who would speak or recite with good effect must have not merely mental capacity, but command over the body and the voice, the instruments through which he expresses himself.

Awkwardness, a weak or disagreeable voice, or indistinct articulation may spoil the effect of the most brilliant composition; while a graceful and clear delivery will often make a very commonplace subject interesting.

Faults in delivery are caused either by wrong conditions of the joints and muscles that are used in gesture and speech, thereby preventing the proper action of the parts, or by lack of control over the muscles, so that we use the wrong set or do not use the right set properly.

It is evident that if we wish to gain control of the body we must first get rid of wrong actions and conditions; in other words, before we begin to strengthen the parts, we must render them flexible and pliable. It is of no use to practise opening the hand, for instance, so long as the muscles which shut the hand refuse to relax and allow the other set to act freely; we shall only be straining the delicate tendons and rendering the action more awkward than before. Therefore we must first learn to relax; afterward we shall study to get control of the parts.

EXERCISE I.

Hands and Fingers.

Lift the forearm a little in front of the body, with the hand and fingers hanging down in a lifeless manner. Hold the arm in this position until the hand has become perfectly passsive and you can feel that its own weight is drawing it downward. This means that the muscles that hold the hand and fingers

in position have completely relaxed. See FIG. 4. that the fingers hang as loosely as the fringe on a shawl.