a complete method of instruction. This fact is
thoroughly appreciated by the teachers of singing. Almost without
exception they seek to supplement the mechanical doctrines by
instruction of an entirely different character. The subjects included in
this form of instruction are of several classes. They comprise the
manner of emission of the tone, the traditional precepts of the old
Italian school, the singer's sensations, and the use of certain vowels
and consonants for special purposes.

_Emission and Forward Placing_

Of all the traditional precepts, the one most frequently cited in
theoretical treatises on the voice is, "Place the tone forward." For
this precept it is generally believed that a satisfactory explanation
has been found in the accepted doctrine of tone emission.

The characteristic effect of perfect singing known as the "forward tone"
is thoroughly well known to every lover of singing. In some peculiar way
the tone, when perfectly produced, seems to issue directly from the
singer's mouth. When we listen to a poorly trained and faulty singer the
tones seem to be caught somewhere in the singer's throat. We feel
instinctively that if the singer could only lift the voice off the
throat, and bring it forward in the mouth, the tones would be greatly
improved in character. It is commonly believed that the old masters knew
some way in which this can be done. Just what means they used for this
purpose is not known. But the accepted scientific interpretation of the
"forward tone" precept is held by vocal theorists to render the subject
perfectly clear.

Sir Morell Mackenzie states the correct emission of the tone as one of
the three cardinal principles of the vocal action. "The regulation of
the force of the blast which strikes against the vocal cords, the
placing of these in the most favourable position for the effect which it
is desired to produce, and the direction of the vibrating column of air
which issues from the larynx are the three elements of artistic
production." (_The Hygiene of the Vocal Organs_, London, 1886.) His
analysis of the mechanical and acoustic processes involved in emission
may be cited as typical of the views of the great majority of vocal
scientists. "It (the column of sound) must be projected against the roof
of the cavity behind the upper front teeth, from which it rebounds
sharply and clearly to the outside." Mme. Seiler expresses the idea
somewhat differently, but the meaning is abo