effort.

It may be said that in artistic singing everything is working
automatically. There can be no such thing as artistic singing until
everything involved is responding automatically to the mental demands of
the singer.

Mention has been made of the automatic response of the vocal cords to
the thought of pitch. That part of the mechanism which is so largely
responsible for tone quality, the pharynx and mouth, must respond in the
same way. This it will do unerringly if it is free from tension. But if
the throat is full of rigidity, as is so often the condition, it cannot
respond; consequently the quality is imperfect and the tone is throaty.
The vocal cavity must vibrate in sympathy with the pitch in order to
create pure resonance. It can do this only when it is free and is
responding automatically to the concept of tone quality. To form the
mouth and throat by direct effort and expect a good tone to result
thereby, is an action not only certain of failure but exceedingly
stupid.

VOICE TRAINING IS SIMPLE

There is a belief amounting to a solid conviction in the public mind
that the training of the voice is so difficult that the probabilities of
success are about one in ten. What is responsible for this? Doubtless
the large number of failures. But this calls for another interrogation.
What is the cause of these failures? Here is one. All students have done
more or less singing before they go to a teacher. During that time they
have, with scarcely an exception, formed bad habits. Now bad habits of
voice production are almost invariably some form of throat interference,
referred to as tension, rigidity, resistance, etc. Instances without
number could be cited where students have been told to keep right on
singing and eventually they would outgrow these habits. Such a thing
never happened since time began. One may as well tell a drunkard to keep
on drinking and eventually he will outgrow the habit. No. Something
definite and specific must be done. The antidote for tension is
relaxation. A muscle cannot respond while it is rigid, therefore the
student must be taught how to get rid of tension.

TWO THINGS INVOLVED

There is nothing in voice training that is necessarily mysterious and
inscrutable. On the contrary, if one will acquaint himself with its
fundamental principles he will find that the truth about voice training,
like all truth, is simple and easily understood, and when understood the
element of unc