ungs without
making the least possible demand on the throat or vocal chords,
stealing each word out of the depths of the lungs, afraid, as it
were, of awakening the upper organs. When he has acquired this
habit of speaking words and sentences, let him practise a verse
or two of declamation. In a short time he will be surprised at
his progress in acquiring a chest voice. In public speaking it
will become his ordinary voice; for not only does the established
habit assist him, but the organs daily develop and fit themselves
to his purpose, and he learns to transfer the stress from his
throat to his lungs as easily and quickly and instinctively as
the pianist passes his fingers from the treble to the base notes
on the keyboard.

The test of any theory is--How has it worked in practice? The
method of voice production here recommended has given the writer
advantages that it would be difficult to overestimate. Lungs
naturally weak grew to three times their former size and
strength; his voice increased in depth, richness and resonance;
though constantly speaking in large churches for years, he has
never known what hoarseness, sore throat or huskiness is.

A method that to him has been worth untold gold may not be
without advantage to his readers.

[Side note: Resonance]

We must, however, have more than speech; we must have musical
speech. This is acquired by resonance and inflection.

To send a stream of air from the lungs and vocalise it on its
outward passage is not enough; by this you produce only a tiny,
impoverished voice that conveys no force and awakens no emotion.
There is something wanting; that something is--Resonance. It
supplies richness and effectiveness to the stream of sound.

[Side note: An illustration]

The difference between speech stripped of resonance and
accompanied with it is best illustrated by a simple experiment.
Take a violin-string in your hand: touch it, and mark the sound
produced--how weak and thin. Now, attach the string to the
violin: touch it again, and see how the resonating instrument
converts the feeble sound of the detached string into a sonorous
wave of vibrating music. Now, the vocal chords are placed in the
throat midway between two resonators--the chest and the head.
These are to the chords what the body of the violin is to the
string. When the stream of air has passed the chords it is
already accompanied by the vibrations of the chest, but the head
is the main contributor.