hod of all. The mere fact of having high
tones does not necessarily make one a soprano, neither is a voice always
to be classified as alto by reason of not being able to sing high. It is
_quality_ that decides what a voice is. Soprano is a quality. Alto is a
quality. The terms tenor, baritone, bass, refer to a quality rather than
a compass. These qualities are determined primarily by the construction
of the organ.

But when voices are properly trained there is not so much difference in
the compass as most people suppose. For example: the female head voice
lies approximately within this compass [Illustration: Figure A] and
altos who learn to use the real head voice will have no difficulty in
vocalizing that high.

At the lower end of the voice sopranos who have a chest register will
often sing as low as most altos. But whether they sing high or low it is
always the quality that determines the classification of the voice.

Many lyric sopranos have no chest register, and it would be a mistake to
attempt to develop one. In such voices, which rarely have anything below
middle C, the middle register must be strengthened and carried down and
made to take the place of the chest voice.

It must not be understood that there is but one soprano quality, one
alto quality, etc. The voice is so individual that it cannot be thus
limited. There are many soprano qualities between the coloratura and the
dramatic, and the same is true of alto, tenor, baritone and bass.

When the voice is rightly produced, its natural quality will invariably
appear, and there it must be allowed to remain. An attempt to change it
always means disaster.

It will be observed that the piano string diminishes in length and
thickness as the pitch rises, and the voice must do something which
corresponds to this. Otherwise it will be doing that which approximates
stretching the middle C string, for example, until it will produce its
octave.

In discussing the head voice it is the purpose to avoid as much as
possible the mechanical construction of the instrument. This may be
learned from the numerous books on the anatomy and physiology of the
voice. It is an interesting subject, but beyond an elementary knowledge
it is of little value to the teacher. A correct knowledge of how to
train the voice must be gained in the studio, not in the laboratory. Its
basis is the musical sense rather than the mechanical or scientific. All
of the scientific or mechanical kno