HYGIENE OF THE VOCAL ORGANS.
601. _The voice can be changed and modified by habit._ Sailors,
smiths, and others, who are engaged in noisy occupations, exert their
vocal organs more strongly than those of more quiet pursuits. This not
only affects the structure of the vocal organs, but varies the
intonation of the voice.
602. _The voice is strong in proportion to the development of the
larynx, and the capacity of the chest._ Singing and reading aloud
improve and strengthen the vocal organs, and give a healthy expansion
to the chest. The enunciation of the elementary sounds of the English
language, aids in developing the vocal organs, as well as preventing
disease of the throat and lungs. This exercise also conduces to the
acquisition of musical sounds.
603. _The attitude affects the modulation of the voice._ When an
individual stands erect, the movements of the whole respiratory
apparatus are most free and effective. The larynx is brought forward
by the erect position of the head and the elevation of the chin. The
muscles of the arytenoid cartilages are then brought to a proper
relation for action, by which a tension of the vocal cords is
produced, that favors clear and harmonious enunciation.
_Experiment._ Read with the head bowed forward and the chin depressed;
then read with the head erect and the chin elevated, and the
difference in the movement of the vocal organs, together with the
difference in the voice, will be manifest.
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601-616. _Give the hygiene of the vocal organs._ 602. How may the
voice be strengthened? 603. What effect has the erect attitude upon
the modulations of the voice? Give the experiment.
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[Illustration: Fig. 107. An improper position; but one not unfrequently
seen in some of our common schools, and in some of our public speakers.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108. The proper position for reading, speaking, and
singing.]
604. If an individual or class read or sing when sitting, let the
position represented by fig. 109 be adopted, and not the one
represented by fig. 110; for the erect position in sitting conduces to
the free and effective action of the respiratory and vocal organs, and
is as important as the erect attitude in standing.
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604. What position should be adopted when a person reads or sings when
sitting? Why?
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605. _The muscles of the neck should not be compressed._ If the
muscles of the neck and larynx are compressed by a high cravat, or
other close dressing, not only will the free and energetic movements
of these parts be impeded, but the tones will be feeble and
ineffective. Therefore the dress of the neck, particularly of public
speakers and singers, should be loose and thin. For a warm dress upon
the neck, when the vocal organs are in action, will induce too great a
flow of blood to these parts, which will be attended by subsequent
debility.
[Illustration: Fig. 109.]
_Observations._ 1st. The loss of voice, (_lar-yn-gi'tis_,) which is
prevalent among public speakers, may be ascribed in part to the
injudicious dressing of the neck, and improper position in standing.
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605. How should public speakers dress their necks? Why? What is a
common cause of the loss of voice?
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2d. When individuals have been addressing an audience in a warm room,
or engaged in singing, they should avoid all impressions of a cold
atmosphere, unless adequately protected by an extra garment.
[Illustration: Fig. 110.]
606. _The condition of the air modifies speaking and singing._ As pure
air is more elastic and resonant than impure, and as easy, melodious
speaking or singing requires atmospheric elasticity, so school-rooms
and singing-halls should be well ventilated, if we would be
entertained with soft intonations in reading, or sonorous singing.
_Observation._ The imperfect ventilation of churches and vestries is
another cause of laryngitis among clergymen. This affection is almost
unknown among those who speak in very open rooms, where stoves are not
used.
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Give 2d. observation. 606. Why does easy and melodious speaking
require pure air? What is another cause laryngitis among clergymen?
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607. _The condition of the nasal passages and throat modifies the
voice._ The enunciation of words is rendered more or less distinct, in
proportion as the jaws are separated in speaking, and the fauces and
nasal passages are free from obstruction. For these reasons, the
scholar should be taught to open the mouth adequately when reading,
speaking, or singing, that the sounds formed in the larynx and
modified in the fauces may have an unobstructed egress.
_Observations._ 1st. If the fauces are obstructed by enlarged tonsils,
(a condition by no means uncommon in children,) they should be removed
by a surgical operation, which is not only effective, but safe, and
attended with little suffering. The tonsils are situated on each side
of the base of the tongue, and, when enlarged, they obstruct the
passage through which the air passes to and from the lungs, and the
respiration is not only laborious, but distressing.
2d. When the nasal passages are obstructed, there is a peculiar sound
of the voice, which is called "talking through the nose." This
phenomenon arises, not from the expired air passing through the nose,
but from its not being able to pass through the nasal passages.
608. _The state of the mind and health exerts an influence upon the
vocal organs._ "The organs of the voice, in common with all other
parts of the bodily frame, require the vigor and pliancy of muscle,
and the elasticity and animation of mind, which result from good
health, in order to perform their appropriate functions with energy
and effect. But these indispensable conditions to the exercise of
vocal organs, are, in the case of most learners, very imperfectly
supplied."
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607. Does the condition of the throat and nasal passages modify the
voice? Name the influences that produce clear enunciation of words.
What is the effect when the nasal passages are obstructed? 608. How
are the vocal organs influenced? What do they require?
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609. "A sedentary mode of life, the want of invigorating exercise,
close and long-continued application of mind, and, perhaps, an
impaired state of health, or a feeble constitution, prevent, in many
instances, the free and forcible use of those muscles on which voice
is dependent. Hence arises the necessity of students of elocution
practising physical exercises adapted to promote general muscular
vigor, as a means of attaining energy in speaking; the power of any
class of muscles being dependent on the vigor of the whole system."
610. "Gymnastic and calisthenic exercises are invaluable aids to the
culture and development of the voice, and should be sedulously
practised when opportunity renders them accessible. But even a slight
degree of physical exercise, in any form adapted to the expansion of
the chest and to the freedom and force of the circulation, will serve
to impart energy and glow to the muscular apparatus of voice, and
clearness to its sound."
611. "There is, therefore, a great advantage in always practising some
preliminary muscular actions, as an immediate preparation for vocal
exercises. The art of cultivating the voice, however, has, in addition
to the various forms of corporeal exercise, practised for the general
purpose of promoting health, its own specific prescription for
securing the vigor of the vocal organs, and modes of exercise adapted
to the training of each class of organs separately."
612. The results of such practice are of indefinite extent. They are
limited only by the energy and perseverance of the student, excepting
perhaps in some instances of imperfect organization. A few weeks of
diligent cultivation are usually sufficient to produce such an effect
on the vocal organs, that persons who commence practice with a feeble
and ineffective utterance, attain, in that short period, the full
command of clear, forcible, and varied tone.
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609. Why are students of elocution in general necessitated to practise
physical exercise? 610. What are invaluable aids in the culture of the
voice? 611. What is said of the art of cultivating the voice? 612. Are
the results of such practices limited? What exception?
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613. _Repetition is essential to distinct articulation of words._ In
teaching a child to articulate a letter or word, in the first
instance, make an effort to induce a proper state of the vocal organs
by which the particular sound is produced. Repeat the letter or word
again and again, until all the parts of the vocal apparatus harmonize
in their movements to produce the given sound. This repetition is as
necessary in learning to read as in singing.
_Observations._ 1st. There is nothing gained by trying to teach a
child to pronounce the letters of the alphabet, before the vocal
organs are so developed that distinct utterance can be given to the
proper sounds.
2d. The drawling method of talking to young children, as well as using
words that are not found in any written language, (called child's
talk,) is decidedly wrong. A child will pronounce and understand the
application of a correct word as quickly as an incorrect one.
614. _No part of the vocal organs is wanting, with those individuals
that stammer, or who have an impediment in their speech._ Some parts
may be more developed than others, but they generally are but
imperfectly under the control of the will, and assume an irregular and
rapid movement, while other parts, the motions of which are essential,
remain comparatively inactive. This can be seen by comparing the
movements of the lips, tongue, and larynx, while attempting to speak,
in a person who stammers, with the movements of the corresponding
parts, while speaking, in an individual who has no such impediment.
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613. Is repetition essential to distinct articulation? What method is
suggested in teaching a child to articulate letters or words? Give
observation 1st. Observation 2d. 614. Are the vocal organs wanting in
stammerers? Why the defect in their articulation of words?
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615. Surgical operations and medical treatment are not highly
advantageous in a majority of these cases. In the young and middle
aged, this defect can be remedied by _patient_ and judicious training.
At first, only those letters and words should be spoken that can be
articulated with distinctness. Let there be repetition, until the
words can be spoken at any time with readiness. Then take for a lesson
other words, more difficult to articulate; and pursue a similar
process of training and repetition, until every part of the vocal
organs can be called into a ready and harmonious action in giving
utterance to any word in common use.
616. _The method of removing foreign bodies from the throat._ It is
not necessary to ascertain which passage the foreign body is in, for
the immediate treatment ought in either case to be the same. Some
person should place one hand on the front of the chest of the
sufferer, and, with the other, give two or three smart blows upon the
back, allowing a few seconds to intervene between them. This treatment
will generally be successful, and cause the substance to be violently
thrown from the throat.
_Observation._ If the foreign body passes into the larynx violent
spasmodic coughing immediately succeeds, which continues until it is
removed or life is extinct. Such cases demand the prompt opening of
the trachea below the larynx by a skilful surgeon.
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615. How can stammering be remedied? 616. What is the method of
removing foreign bodies from the throat?
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