mmencing to train a voice the choirmaster must make sure that
it is a voice worth training. He must take the boy alone, test his voice
by singing scales, and try especially his notes in the treble compass,
say, [Illustration: musical notation] He must test his ear by playing
phrases, and asking the boy to sing them. He must enquire into his
theoretical knowledge, if any, and ask if he has had a Tonic Sol-fa or
any other systematic training. The ear of the choirmaster must decide
upon the voice. It is said by some that boys' voices partake of one or
other of two qualities, the flute quality or the oboe quality. They
differ, no doubt, in _timbre_, but these two divisions are not clearly
marked. The diagram at the side gives the compass of the registers in
boy trebles and altos. The names are those invented by the late John
Curwen, and have the advantage of describing the physiological action
that goes on. Thus in the Thick Register, the vocal cords vibrate in
their whole thickness; in the Thin Register their thin edges alone
vibrate; and in the Small Register a small aperture only is made,
through which the sound comes. The registers are practically the same as
those of women's voices. They may be shown on the staff, thus:--

[Illustration: Lower Thick. Upper Thick. Lower Thin. Upper Thin. Small.

Chest. Middle. Falsetto.]

I give below the staff another set of names which are sometimes used,
but different voice-trainers attach to these different meanings.

It is undesirable to tell the boys anything about the registers. The
spirit of voice-training at the present time is too analytical. The
theory of the registers is for the teacher, not for the pupil. Some
voice-trainers seem to think that it is their business to discover the
registers, but as far as tone goes it is their business to conceal them.
Trainers work better through possessing physiological knowledge, but the
end is a smooth and homogeneous voice, blended and well-built.

Roughly speaking, the boys to be rejected are those who through
carelessness, excitement, or confirmed habit, force up the thick
register while singing. And those to be accepted are the boys who have
sufficient reserve and care to turn into the fluty tone at the proper
place, whether the music be loud or soft, and whatever be the shape of
the melodic passage. The right use of the voice is most likely to come
from boys who, whatever their social status, are well brought up, and
have been t