nt of instruction and are seldom raised to
the dignity accorded to the mechanical doctrines of vocal management.
The use of the singer's sensations, as applied in practical instruction,
is almost exclusively interpretive. In the mechanical sense the
traditional precepts have no meaning whatever; this is also true of
several of the accepted doctrines of Vocal Science. For example, the
precept "Support the tone," is absolutely meaningless as a principle of
mechanical vocal action. But, when interpreted as referring to a set of
sensations experienced by the singer, this precept takes on a very
definite meaning. Nobody knows what the support of the tone is, but
every vocal teacher knows how it feels. In the same way, no means is
known for directly throwing the air in the nasal cavities into
vibration. But the sensation in the front of the head, which indicates,
presumably, the proper action of nasal resonance, is familiar to all
teachers. Most of the positive materials of modern methods are thus
interpreted in terms of sensations.

True, the accepted theory of Vocal Science does not directly countenance
this interpretation. The basic principle of modern Voice Culture is the
idea of mechanical vocal management. All instruction is supposed to aim
at direct, conscious, and voluntary control of the muscular operations
of singing. Teachers always impart to their pupils this idea of the
mechanical control of the voice. The vocal action is always considered
from the mechanical side. Even those expressions whose mechanical
meaning is vague or unscientific are yet used as referring definitely to
muscular actions. The conscious thought of the teacher is always turned
to the mechanical idea supposedly conveyed by scientific doctrine and
empirical precept. The translation of this idea into a description of
sensations is almost always the result of a sub-conscious mental
process.

It therefore follows that in practical instruction the appeal to
sensations is more often indirect than direct. For example, when a
student's tones are caught in the throat, the master says
explicitly,--"Free the tone by opening your throat." The master explains
the (supposed) wrong vocal action, and describes how the tone should be
produced. Incidentally, the master may also tell how and where the tone
should be felt.

There is also a great deal of instruction based frankly and directly on
the singer's sensations. Instruction of this type usually takes the