and oral cavities, including the tongue, palate, teeth and lips, belong.

Only by the right application of these organs can pure tones and correct formation of words be produced. The slightest misuse, the smallest deviation from the right path, is the cause of such strange sounds, such peculiar word-formations, as we frequently hear, and in which palatal, nasal and guttural tones predominate.

The reader can infer the importance of breathing in song and in speech from these few introductory remarks, which may be summed up in this sentence: The air which streams from the lungs is the primary cause of all vocal phenomena, and the larynx is the generator of the voice.

The organs which we require for respiration are the following:

First. The chest (thorax) with the muscles of respiration.

Secondly. The air-passages through which atmospheric air is drawn into the air-receivers (lungs), and which are composed of the oral and nasal cavities, the pharynx, the larynx, the trachea (windpipe) and bronchi.

Thirdly. The lungs (air-receivers).

All movements of the human body are brought

about by the action of the muscles which are attached to movable apparatuses, and are made to operate through the medium of the nerves.

Without the proper co-operation of the muscles, it is impossible to accomplish anything.

Thoughts originate in the brain, the brain acts upon the nerves, the nerves act upon the muscles, and the muscles upon the bones; and only after this process are we able to undertake an act.

It, therefore, becomes necessary, above all, to understand the constitution of the muscles in general, as well as their preservation and development, and especially the inner character and working of those which pertain to our subject.

So much for voice and speech in general. Let us enter into details.

CHAPTER II.

THE MUSCLES.

SECTION 1.

THE MUSCLES IN GENERAL.

THE muscles consist of muscular tissue (flesh), which possesses the property of contracting and expanding.

The contraction of a muscle is followed after a time, either voluntarily or through exhaustion, by an abatement of contraction, a state of rest, during which a change of material (nutrition) can be carried on better; whilst, during contraction, a greater consumption of blood and of the nerve-power occurs.

By frequently recurring, gradually increasing activity of the muscles, and by partaking of the necessary meat diet, these can be made to increase considerably in power and size; whereas a surplus of fat and inactivity will cause them to become flabby and powerless.

What wonderful strength and versatility is achieved by man through habituating (correctly exercising)

the muscles to certain functions, the exercise being, of course, gradually increased and interrupted by the necessary repose, is attested by all those whose chief occupation consists in the use of the muscles, such as gymnasts, athletes, dancers, pianists, etc.

As in the contraction of a muscle a larger amount of blood is required, so in its relaxation a greater blood-formation occurs; it is perfectly natural that a muscle in constant change (in contraction and relaxation, i. e., activity and rest) is strengthened much more, and tires itself much less, than one whose activity is either constantly or for a long time onesided.

It is owing to this that continued standing is more fatiguing than continued walking.

When a muscle is either too much strained, or kept in motion too long, lameness frequently follows. Only continued exercise of the muscles, alternating with the required rest, will eventually succeed in enabling them to make those movements which the human will dictates. At the commencement of these exercises one is seldom able to do this, and can hardly, while exercising certain muscles for certain purposes, prevent other muscles, which are not requisite for those functions, from co-operating.

Observe any person who is beginning to learn

gymnastics, dancing, fencing, or piano-playing, and you will find our assertion confirmed.

It is in the highest degree amusing to watch a young, imaginative, talented and impassioned person when reciting for the first time. Not only the required, but all the muscles move in a spasmodic and ugly way, and the face generally expresses, if not exactly the contrary, yet only partly, the disposition of the mind.

We note the misapplication of the muscles most generally in cases where the human voice is used in either singing or speaking, and this is the frequent cause of defective speaking and singing.

Many may be astonished, even provoked, because they must hear so much about the muscles, - they who want to become neither athletes nor dancers, but simply singers or orators. This, however, cannot be helped. Nature is so obstinate that she demands a correct muscular movement as well from the singer and the orator as from the athlete and dancer (of which we shall learn more further on); nature makes no exception of them; but that our reader or scholar may be disposed to follow the further description of the muscles with pleasure, it will be well for him to bear in mind what we said in Chapter I, viz.: Thoughts originate in the