d with a nasal twang or a throaty growl that seem at
times most unpardonable noises when coming from a pretty face.
Consonants are juggled and mangled until the words are very difficult to
comprehend. Our girls are improving in this respect, but there is still
cause for grievous complaint among voice teachers, who find in this one
of their most formidable obstacles.

Another common natural fault, which is particularly offensive to me, is
that of an objectionable bodily poise. I have found throughout my entire
career that bodily poise in concert work is of paramount importance, but
I seem to have great difficulty in sufficiently impressing this great
truth upon young ladies who would be singers. The noted Parisian
teacher, Sbriglia, is said to require one entire year to build up and
fortify the chest. I have always felt that the best poise is that in
which the shoulders are held well back, although not in a stiff or
strained position, the upper part of the body leaning forward gently and
naturally and the whole frame balanced by a sense of relaxation and
ease. In this position the natural equilibrium is not taxed, and a
peculiar sensation of non-constraint seems to be noticeable,
particularly over the entire area of the front of the torso. This
position suggests ease and an absence of that military rigidity which is
so fatal to all good vocal effort. It also permits of a freer movement
of the abdominal walls, as well as the intercostal muscles, and is thus
conducive to the most natural breathing. Too much anatomical explanation
is liable to confuse the young singer, and if the matter of breathing
can be assisted by poise, just so much is gained.

Another important habit that the teacher should see to at the start is
that of correct thinking. Most vocal beginners are poor thinkers and
fail to realize the vast importance of the mind in all voice work.
Unless the teacher has the power of inspiring the pupil to a realization
of the great fact that nothing is accomplished in the throat that has
not been previously performed in the mind, the path will be a difficult
one. During the process of singing the throat and the auxiliary vocal
process of breathing are really a part of the brain, or, more
specifically, the mind or soul. The body is never more than an
instrument. Without the performer it is as voiceless as the piano of
Richard Wagner standing in all its solitary silence at Wahnfried--a mute
monument of the marvelous tho