ligent master would use these directions in any
occult or cabalistic sense? Such a statement is occasionally made by a
consistent upholder of the mechanical system of Voice Culture. Paulo
Guetta, for example, in a recent exhaustive work on the subject,
ridicules the use of the old precepts. Says this ardent advocate of
mechanical instruction in singing:

"Nowadays alchemy and necromancy awaken nothing but curiosity. How then
can one who thinks and reasons admit that an art can be cultivated and
sustained by theories extravagant, fantastic, enigmatic, explained and
condensed in abstruse phrases and sentences, which not only have no
meaning whatever, but even lead one to doubt whether the teacher himself
knows what result it is desired to obtain? Do you wish a little example?
Behold!

"'Press the whole voice against the mask.' 'Place the voice in the
head.' 'The voice is directed to the nasal cavities.' 'Place the voice
forward.'

"Others, with the most austere gravity, will tell you that your voice is
too far back, or that you send the voice to the lower teeth, and promise
in a few days to place the voice forward, at the upper teeth, or
wherever else it should be." (_Il Canto nel suo Mecanismo_, Milan,
1902.)

This statement is by no means justified. The precepts have a real and
definite meaning for the vocal teacher. Any one familiar with the
highest type of artistic singing must have observed that the singer's
"throat seems to be open"; the tones impress the hearer as being in some
way "forward in the singer's mouth," and not at the vocal cords; the
voice "seems to be supported" somewhere; the tones float out freely on
the breath. A harsh and badly produced voice seems to be held in the
singer's throat by main force. The critical hearer feels instinctively
that such a singer's voice would be greatly improved if the tones could
only be supported in a forward position in the mouth, and kept from
slipping back into the throat. It seems that this would relieve the
throat of the strain of holding the tone; the throat would then be open,
and the voice would float out freely on the breath.

In short, the traditional precepts describe accurately the most striking
points of difference between perfect singing and bad singing, so far as
the effect on the listener is concerned. Modern teachers are thoroughly
familiar with the highest standards of the vocal art; they fully
appreciate how well the precepts describe the perfect