The editor of the Journal of Health, speaking of "the voice," says: "The preservation of the voice, and the means of improving its tone and com- excess. Fig. 12.-INVOCATION. "The voice should not be exerted after a full meal. It should never be urged beyond its strength, nor strained to its utmost pitch, without intermission. Frequent change of pitch is the best preservative. The voice, when hoarse, should not be exerted, if it can possibly be avoided. "To speak well with anything in the mouth, is scarcely possible. Few things are so injurious to the voice as tobacco. By the use of it, the voice becomes dry, and is rendered harsh and broken. The voice, as well as the health of a speaker, suffers materially, unless the chest is allowed to expand freely. Hence, all compression or restraint should be carefully removed from this portion of the body; for the same reason, an erect position should be assumed, as well in speaking and reading aloud, as in singing." Fig. 13.-PATRIOTISM. BREATHING.In breathing stand in a perfectly erect but easy posture, with the weight of the body resting on one foot, the feet at the proper angle and distance from each other (see Figs. 1 and 2). In effusive breathing draw in slowly a full breath and emit it very slowly in a prolonged sound of the breathing h or ah in a whisper. In expulsive breathing draw in somewhat quicker than the preceding, a full breath, and send it forth with a lively, explosive force, the sound of the h but little prolonged. explosive breathing draw in a full breath faster than in expulsive, and emit very quickly in the brief sound of the h. In WHISPERING.-Those who are accustomed to articulate poorly should practice whispering for in whispering a poor articulation cannot be understood-let the student follow the instructions given in preceding paragraph. In effusive whispering let the breath pass from the moun gently, so that it could be understood ten feet distant. In the expulsive emit with more force, so as to be understood twenty feet dis tant. In the explosive send forth the breath in as abrupt and explosive a manner as possible. QUALITIES OF VOICE.-The qualities. of voice generally used in elocution and which should receive the highest degree The of culture, are the Pure Tone, the Orotund, the Tremor, the Aspirated, the Guttural, the Falsetto and the Whisper. The Pure Tone is a clear, smooth, sonorous flow of sound, used to express joy, love and tranquility. Orotund Tone is a full, deep, round, pure tone of a voice; although sometimes natural, it is more frequently acquired-it is a most pleasing and musical sound. enables the speaker to enunciate distinctly; it is the most powerful tone, readily modulated and easy to expand or diminish, used especially to express sublime, impassioned and pathetic emotions. The Aspirated Tone is mostly used in suppressed passion or whispering, as used to express fear, The Guttural Tone. anger, terror, revenge and remorse. Fig. 14.-CAUTIO.. It This tone is uttered from the throat, as its name imports. It should be employed very seldom and only to convey an expression of scorn, aversion, hatred and contempt. The Falsetto Tone is sometimes called a "head voice." It is used to simulate whinings of peevishness, or the scream of baffled rage, or abject, hopeless terror. It may be cultivated and attained by practice. The Tremor Tone. This tone is rarely used, but is easily acquired by practice; as indicated by its title it has the qualities which distinguish laughter or crying. The Whisper. The word illustrates itself. It is, if used carefully, eminently successful. Several of Amer. ica's tragedians have used it with more effect than the loudest excla mations in many deep tragic ARTICULATION. Correct articulation is the distinct utterance of the elementary sounds in syllables and words, according to the most approved custom of pronouncing them, and is the first requisite in good reading Fig. 15.-COURAGE and speaking. A clear and ele gant enunciation may be acquired by continued practice and indefatigable study. The student should remember that good articulation very much depends upon opening the mouth sufficiently, so that nothing can impede a round, full tone of voice. MODULATION is the giving to each tone of voice its appropriate character and expression. It includes the consideration of Pitch or Key variation. Force and ratethe voice is defined as capable of assuming three keys for convenience and practice-commonly divided into Low, Middle and High key. The Low Key is generally used in expressing awe, amazement, horror, despair, deep solem nity, melancholy, and deep grief. The Middle Key, sometimes called the conversational key, should be used in common conversation-in the delivery of an essay, doctrinal sermon, a plain or practical oration. The High Key is used in expressing brisk, gay, and joyous emotions, also the extremes of pain and fear. The Monotone. Properly speaking does not come under the head of Pitch, yet will be better understood if treated here. The Monotone is the opposite of Modulation. It is speaking without change of tone-preserving a fullness of tone with out ascent or descent; it requires a full tone of voice with slow and prolonged utterance. It is the only tone that can properly present the supernatural and ghostly, also the best tone to practice in the cultivation of the voice. Imitative modulation is used with powerful effect in the hands of a good reader, or speaker. It marks the reader's appreci ation of the sense and beauty of a passage. In descriptive reading, motion and sound, in all their modifications, are more or less imitated. VARIATIONS are the different movements of the voice, or variations from the key in the delivery of a sentence. There are the Sweeps, the Bend, the Slides and the Closes. The Sweeps are divided into the Upper, Lower and Accentual. The movement of the voice upward from the key to the word emphasized, and coming down upon the word with increased force, is carried below the key and back to it, will represent the Upper and Lower Sweeps-the Accentual takes the same movement, though very much diminished in extent Fig. 10.-HATE. |