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profession, frequently ruin magnificent voices by wrong methods of
instruction. It is a simple matter to build up a good voice, but it is
also a simple matter to ruin one by unnatural methods of training.

It is therefore well to learn to use the voice in a strictly natural
manner, and without any straining or forcing of the tone. For instance,
it is advisable to avoid any constriction of the muscles of the throat;
that is to say, there should be no tension in the throat when singing.
One should learn how to "place" the voice. Resonance is all-important.

Many really good teachers differ as to the proper methods of using the
voice. Although there may be a reasonable excuse for a difference on
some of the minor details of voice culture, yet there are certain
fundamental principles upon which there should be a definite agreement,
and it is these basic principles which will be presented in the book
to which I have just referred.

At all events, whether or not you desire to take up vocal culture in a
serious way, at least you should make it a point to sing at
every opportunity. Break forth into song whenever the slightest excuse
appears. If your voice is harsh, unpleasant and reminds your friends
of a carpenter filing a saw, do not be discouraged. Every vocal artist
had to make a beginning. No matter how bad your efforts may be
you can probably recall voices that are still worse. Remember also that
all voices improve with training. It is a matter of common
agreement among instructors that anyone who possesses a speaking voice
can also learn to sing. Anyway, at the worst, your hours of practice can
be so arranged as to avoid annoying other people, or you can adopt a
method that I have often used. For instance, when you are on a train, or
in a busy centre of the city in which there is a combination of noises
which will drown your own voice, you can then sing or hum to your
heart's content without annoying others. Remember that humming, if you
carry it out with sufficient breath to produce real resonance, is
practically as good as singing for the training of the voice.

There is one particular point of special value, and that is the
advantage of singing when the stomach is empty. Vocal artists commonly
refuse to sing immediately after eating. Your voice is free and full and
clear when the stomach is empty. A few minutes of singing before each
meal would enable one to digest his food far m