by misuse of the voice--can be proved by the beneficial effect
produced upon the organs by complete rest from singing; the symptoms
sometimes disappearing entirely, only to reappear, however, when singing
is resumed--further proof that misuse of the voice is at the root of
the evil.

"Dividing the muscles into those used in breathing, in articulation of
consonants and in vowel enunciation, the physician will find that in
his patient there is no proper coordination between these three groups
of muscles--that through faulty respiration and articulation the
respiratory and articular muscles fail to support sufficiently the vocal
muscles, with the result that the vibration of the vocal cords is
weakened. One fault begets another. The faulty use of the respiratory
muscles directs the vibrating air-column to the soft palate, where the
tone is so smothered that the singer has to over-exert himself to be
heard, instead of directing it against the hard palate, where it would
gain vibrance and carrying quality."

The faulty use of the muscles of articulation is disclosed when the back
of the tongue rises like a flabby partition between the opening of the
mouth and the pharynx, the consonants being formed thereby far back in
the mouth, instead of forward with the tip or middle of the tongue
leaning against the hard palate. The articulation is, in consequence,
thick and dull. The vocal muscles are contracted to an unnatural degree,
and every vocal tone is accompanied by an audible shock or spasm of the
glottis. All this adds to the exertion required of the singer to make
himself heard, an exertion and strain which eventually result in the
symptoms that have been described, and which most singers believe due
to colds and other troubles, whereas they are the result of the singer's
own misuse of his voice.

I have said that correct breathing is one of the fundamentals of correct
voice-production. No wonder, therefore, that incorrect breathing is one
of the most potent factors in the misuse of the voice that sends the
singer as a patient to the physician. I have stated that there are three
kinds of breathing--clavicular, costal and diaphragmatic; and these
have been described. It has also been pointed out that the teacher who
instructs in one kind of breathing to the exclusion of the other two
makes a serious mistake. For in correct breathing, all three are
coordinated. Usually it is spoken of as mixed costal and diaphragmatic.
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