e back again to
the ear, which is the taste. Does it please the ear? If so, is the ear
reliable? Not always. If all teachers were trying for the same tone
quality there would be no need of further writing on the subject, but
they are not. On the contrary no two of them are trying for exactly the
same quality. Each one is trying to make the voice produce his idea of
tone quality, and the astounding thing about the human voice is that for
a time at least, it can approximate almost anything that is demanded of
it. If a voice is ruined, the ear of the teacher is directly
responsible. It is useless to try to place the blame elsewhere.

Truth is always simple. If it seems difficult it is due to our clumsy
way of stating it. Thought, like melodies, should run on the line of the
least resistance. In the following pages I have eschewed all mystifying
polysyllabic verbiage, and as Mark Twain once said, have "confined
myself to a categorical statement of facts unincumbered by an obscuring
accumulation of metaphor and allegory."

It is hoped that this book will be useful. It is offered as a guide
rather than as a reformer. It aims to point in the right direction, and
"do its bit" in emphasizing those things which are fundamental in voice
training. Whatever is true in it will reach and help those who need it.
Nothing more could be asked or desired.

[Illustration: (signed) D. A. Clippinger]

Kimball Hall, Chicago.
May, 1917.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
I. VOICE PLACING
II. THE HEAD VOICE
III. A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SITUATION
IV. HINTS ON TEACHING
V. THE NATURE AND MEANING OF ART
VI. SINGING AS AN ART
VII. THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SONG
VIII. HOW TO STUDY A SONG
IX. SCIENTIFIC VOICE PRODUCTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE HEAD VOICE AND OTHER PROBLEMS.

I

VOICE PLACING

"The path of the sound, being formed of elastic and movable
parts, varies its dimensions and forms in endless ways, and
every modification--even the slightest--has a corresponding and
definite influence on the voice."

Garcia. _Hints on Singing_.

Vocal teachers are rated primarily on their ability as voice builders.
When students look for a teacher the first thing they want to know is:
"Can he build a voice?" His ability as an interpreter in most instances
is taken for granted. Why this is so is easily understood. There is a
m