palate--the two united in one thought. Only
in the lowest range can the overtones, and in the highest range the
undertones (resonance of the head cavities and of the palate), be
dispensed with.

With me the throat never comes into consideration; I feel absolutely
nothing of it, at most only the breath gently streaming through it. A
tone should never be forced; _never press_ the breath against the
resonating chambers, but only against the chest; and NEVER hold it
back. The organs should not be cramped, but should be allowed to
perform their functions elastically.

The contraction of the muscles should never exceed their power to
relax. A tone must always be sung, whether strong or soft, with an
easy, conscious power. Further, before all things, sing always with
due regard to the pitch.

In this way the control of the ear is exercised over the pitch,
strength, and duration of the tone, and over the singer's strength and
weakness, of which we are often forced to make a virtue. In short, one
learns to recognize and to produce a perfect tone.

[Illustration:

Attack.

Red lines denote that with the inspiration of breath: I, the diaphragm
is sensibly stretched backward; II, enlarges the capacity of the chest
by the drawing down of its floor; III, and so forms the supply chamber
for the breath; IV, indicates the pressure of the breath against the
chest tension muscles; V, the attack.]

In all exercises go as low and as high as the voice will allow without
straining, and always make little pauses to rest between them, even if
you are not tired, in order to be all the fresher for the next one.
With a certain amount of skill and steady purpose the voice increases
its compass, and takes the proper range, easiest to it by nature.
The pupil can see then how greatly the compass of a voice can be
extended. For amateurs it is not necessary; but it is for every one
who practises the profession of a singer in public.

For a second exercise, sing connectedly two half-tones, slowly, on one
or two vowels, bridging them with the auxiliary vowels and the _y_ as
the support of the tongue, etc.

Every tone must seek its best results from all the organs concerned in
its production; must possess power, brilliancy, and mellowness in
order to be able to produce, before leaving each tone, the propagation
form for the next tone, ascending as well as descending, and make it
certain.

No exercise should be dropped till every vibration of