In making the strident sound the tongue should rest in the same position
as for the dark sound. The dark tone never changes and is the basic
sound which gives fullness, foundation, depth to the ultimate tone.
Without it all voices are thin and unsubstantial. The nearer the singer
gets to this the nearer he approaches the great vibrating base upon
which the world is founded.
Remember that the dark tone never changes. It is the background, the
canvas upon which the singer paints his infinite moods by means of
different vowels, emotions, and the tone colors which are derived in
numberless modifications from the strident tone. Another simile may
bring the subject nearer to the reader student. Imagine the dark tone
and all the sensations in different parts of the body as a kind of
atmosphere or gas which requires to be set on fire by the electric spark
of the strident tone. The dark tone is all necessary, but it is useless
unless it is properly electrified by the strident tone.