The voice has its own tonal beauty, entirely
different in character from any artificial instrument. Students of
singing should listen for every fine shade of tone quality in the voices
of other singers. They should learn to detect the slightest blemish on
the quality of every tone, the slightest deviation from the correct
pitch.

As the voice is guided by the ear, the first requirement of a singer is
a keen sense of hearing. For a keen ear to be of benefit, the student
must learn to listen to his own voice. This is not altogether an easy
matter. For one to learn to hear oneself justly and correctly requires
considerable practice. The singer is placed at a natural disadvantage in
listening to himself. This is due to two causes. In the first place, the
direct muscular sensations of singing are so complex, and so
distributed about the throat and face, that the singer's attention is
apt to be divided between these and his auditory sensations. Second, the
sound waves are conducted to the ear internally, by the vibration of the
bones of the head, as well as externally, by the air waves. The
internally conveyed vibrations are a rumbling rather than a true sound;
the only true tone is the external sound, heard by the singer in the
same way as by a listener. Yet the attention is more apt to be taken up
with the internal rumbling than with the external tone. Every vocal
student must be taught to listen to himself, to disregard the muscular
sensations and the internal rumbling, and to pay attention only to the
real tones of his voice.

Throat stiffness greatly increases the difficulty of listening to
oneself. Both the muscular sensations and the internal rumbling are
heightened by the increased muscular tension. A stiff-throated singer
confounds the muscular with the auditory sensations; the feeling of
muscular effort also makes him believe his tones to be much more
powerful than they really are.

_The Acquirement of Skill_

Skill in the use of the voice is acquired solely by practice in singing.
Only one rule is required for the conduct of vocal practice, that is,
that the voice thrives on beautiful sounds. Musical taste must always
guide the vocal student in practising. The voice cannot well do more
than is demanded by the ear. If a student is unable to distinguish a
correct intonation, his voice will not intone correctly. A student must
hear and recognize his own faults or there is no possibility of his
correcting them. H