lower register when the music comes
down on G, or thereabouts. To conquer this, I use exercises which train
the upper register _downwards_, such as:--

[Illustration: KEYS A to F.

d m s m d r [(.d] [(.t]_1 [(.l]_1]

the object being to strengthen the upper register, and, except where the
music touches D or C, [Illustration: musical notation] to practically
'shelve' the lower thick register in the case of treble voices. In
training upwards I insist on easy singing, no straining. I don't mean
apathetic singing, for this is especially to be fought against in the
case of country boys, as there is naturally a want of 'go' about them. I
mean soft singing, but energetic. I tell the boys to sing like birds,
and they generally understand from this that they are to use the upper
register. I do not find much difficulty with them in the way of
flattening. Except in the case of the younger boys, I often hear them a
little sharp. The Tonic Sol-fa method trains their _ears_, and I get
them to listen, and blend their voices; above all, to get rid of apathy.
And if there should be a tendency with the younger boys to sing flat, I
generally find that the application of the old rules as to position,
loud singing, forcing the voice, faulty breathing, and inattention will
remedy the fault. If it occurs in church, a judicious use of a four-foot
stop on the organ often keeps up the pitch. I find, if the melody of a
chant or tune has a great many of the 'thirds' of the chords in it (I
mean as distinct from the fifth, root, &c.) it is often difficult,
especially on a foggy morning, to keep it in tune, _e.g_.:--

[Illustration: KEY G.

{| [(.m] |m:r |m:--|| [(.m] |r:d |r:r |m:--||

or,

KEY G.

{| [(.m] |f:m |re:--|| [(.m] |r:d |t_1:r |d:--||

or,

KEY F.

{| [(.m] |f:l |s:--|| [(.s] |d1:m |r:f |m:--||]

This is the case in a marked degree when the reciting tone comes about
the natural 'break' of the voice. The remedy for this I find to be
transition into another key, one which I judge to be more congenial to
the state of the boys' voices. Here is where the usefulness of the Tonic
Sol-fa system to an organist comes in. A lot of practice in mental
effects has a surprising result in ear training. Sometimes, however, we
get a clergyman who intones badly, and then it is quite a struggle to
keep in tune.

"There are a number of other little points which tell against correct
singing in a country choir; the generally thick enunciation