three-quarters of an inch in diameter, set in a metal frame, and
fastened at an angle of 120 deg. to a piece of wire from three to four
inches long, which is put into a small wooden handle not much thicker
than a pencil, and about the same length as the wire. By help of the
laryngoscope we can either see our own larynx or that of another person.
The easiest experiment is upon the larynx of some one else. In this
case, the person to be operated upon sits facing the sun, the head
slightly bent backwards, and the mouth wide open. If he has not
sufficient control over his tongue to prevent it from arching up, he
must gently hold its protruding tip with a pocket handkerchief between
his thumb and forefinger. The mirror is now slightly warmed to prevent
its becoming dimmed by the moisture of the breath, and then, holding it
like a pen, the operator introduces it into the throat so that it
touches the uvula. This must be done lightly yet firmly, care being
taken not to bring the mirror into contact with the base of the tongue.
The rays of the sun falling upon the mirror are reflected downwards into
the voicebox, the image of which is clearly visible in the mirror. In
making observations upon oneself, a second mirror in the shape of an
ordinary hand looking-glass is necessary to reproduce the image in the
small mirror. This is the way in which the renowned professor of
singing, Senor Manuel Garcia, made those famous "Observations on the
Human Voice," communicated to the Royal Society by Dr. Sharpey, on May
the 24th, 1855. Similar attempts had been made before; for instance, in
1827 by Babington, in 1838 by Baumes, in 1840 by Liston, and in 1844 by
Warden and Avery. But they had all ended in failure, an occasional
glimpse of some parts of the voicebox being the only result obtained.
Garcia, however, brilliantly succeeded where all his predecessors had
failed, and was the first not only to see the vocal ligaments, but to
see them in the act of singing, and to see them so clearly as to be able
to give an account of their minutest movements. The instrument has since
been greatly improved, and the process of investigation has become a
science. Medical men all over the world have laid hold of it, and
suffering humanity is daily benefited by it. But Garcia is the man who
produced the first results, and to him, therefore, is due the credit of
being practically the inventor of the laryngoscope.
It is almost incredible, but it is true, that this splendid invention
was received coldly and with distrust in this country, and had it not
been for Dr. Johann N. Czermak, Professor of Physiology at the
University of Pesth, the matter would, in all probability, have been
forgotten. But this gentleman recognized the value of Garcia's
invention, and he at once went enthusiastically to work, and pushed on
vigorously in the way which Garcia had opened for him. He constructed an
apparatus which enabled him, by making use of artificial light, to work
without interruption and without waiting for the sun to shine. He then
made his first attempts on himself in order to become acquainted with
the conditions which have to be fulfilled by the observer as well as by
the person to be operated upon. In this way he soon became a master of
the new process, which he immediately brought under the notice of the
profession by giving lectures and demonstrations in the chief towns of
Europe.
More than twenty years have passed since then, and the laryngoscope has,
during that time, been made excellent use of, not only for the
alleviation of suffering, and the cure of disease, but also for its
original purpose--_i.e._, the exploration of the mechanism of the human
voice.
My own connection with the matter has arisen through my desire to sift
contradictory statements made by various observers. Having read many
English, German, and French books on the subject, I was in position to
pick up a hint here, and to get some good advice there, and the
consequence was that I was able to pursue a course which made me
familiar with the use of the laryngoscope in a very short time. As my
experience may be useful to others, I will briefly relate how I
proceeded.
I made my first attempts upon a skull, to which I attached a
plaster-of-Paris model of the voicebox, the whole being fastened to an
iron stand. The instrument I used was a concave reflector on a spectacle
frame. The reflector had a hole in the centre, and was capable of being
moved in various directions. The next thing was the little mirror
described on page 73, and lastly, a gas lamp on the principle of the
well-known "Queen's" reading lamps, which can be raised or lowered at
pleasure. I placed the skull to the left of the lamp, and looking with
my right eye through the hole in the centre of the reflector, practised
throwing the light swiftly and with certainty into the upper part of the
throat. I then introduced the little spy mirror, and tried to see and to
recognize the various parts of the voicebox, which, let it be
remembered, present a somewhat different appearance in the looking-glass
from what they do if seen without it. Then I got a friend to mark my
artificial voicebox, unknown to me, in various ways, and endeavoured
quickly to discover what he had done. In this way I soon acquired a
considerable amount of skill in handling the instrument, and also became
thoroughly familiar with the image of the voicebox in the mirror.[M]
Having thus to a large extent mastered the mechanical part of my work, I
proceeded to make observations upon myself. I placed to the left of the
lamp an ordinary bedroom looking-glass, in which now appeared my own
face instead of the skull which hitherto occupied this place. I opened
my mouth, and by the help of the reflector directed the light into the
image of it in the looking-glass. I then continued in every way as I
had done with the skull, with this difference, however, that I had
first, as pointed out before, to warm the little spy mirror in order to
prevent its becoming dimmed in the throat.
An instrument has since been designed by the late Dr. G. D. Foulis, of
Glasgow, which for simplicity, general excellence, and cheapness, far
surpasses the above contrivance, and which I strongly recommend to
intending students of laryngoscopy. It consists of a plain stand on
which is placed a glass globe filled with water, the whole being
surmounted by a small square mirror. The rays from a lamp or candle,
placed behind the globe, are concentrated into the open mouth of the
observer, who is seated in front of it, enabling him, by the use of an
ordinary throat mirror, to inspect the movements of his own vocal
ligaments.
[Illustration]
This apparatus, as shown in the annexed drawing, including a throat
mirror, and safely packed for transmission, may be had from Messrs. W.
B. Hilliard & Sons, 65, Renfield Street, Glasgow, for the very small sum
of 7s. 6d.
Let not the reader who tries laryngoscopic investigations be discouraged
if, at first, violent retching is the result. It does not so much arise
from sensitiveness of the parts touched, as from awkwardness in
introducing the mirror. If he perseveres he will soon be rewarded by a
view of the pearly white vocal ligaments, and a little repeated practice
upon himself will enable him also to operate upon others without causing
them discomfort.
I close this chapter by again reminding amateur laryngoscopists that in
the vast majority of cases where the touch of the mirror causes retching
and gagging, it is due less to the sensitiveness of the person operated
upon than to the want of skill on the part of the operator. He should in
that case renew his experiments upon himself, and continue them until he
has fully mastered the use of the instrument, as it is not fair to make
others suffer for his own clumsiness.
THE TEACHINGS OF THE LARYNGOSCOPE.
On introducing the mirror into the throat we first see the back part of
the tongue, which has a very uneven surface, and which is, as a rule,
covered with greyish phlegm. We next notice a hollow space between the
tongue and the lid, which is divided by an elastic band forming a little
bridge between the two. Next comes the upper free part of the lid, the
shape of which greatly varies in different individuals. It hangs over
the voicebox, which it almost completely hides from view; but during the
production of a high tone on the vowel A, as in "sad," it takes an
almost perpendicular position. When the lid is so raised (pl. XIV, L) we
can see right down to the bottom of it, where we observe that it bulges
out a little. Extending from either side of the lid to the pyramids are
two folds of mucous membrane, in the hinder part of either of which are
to be observed two little elevations representing the cartilages of
Santorini (pl. XIV, S S), and the upper points of the wedges, called
the cartilages of Wrisberg (pl. XIV, W W). Looking down the kind of tube
which is formed by the parts just enumerated, we next notice two
horizontal projections running from front to back, which are the pocket
ligaments (pl. XIV, P P). Everything we have seen so far is of a pinkish
colour. Below the pocket ligaments, right at the bottom of the tube
described above, we see the main object of our investigation, namely,
the vocal ligaments (pl. XIV, V V). These, being almost of a pearly
white, form a strong contrast to all their surroundings, and it is quite
impossible to mistake them.
* * * * *
In quiet breathing the vocal chink is of a triangular shape, of which,
however, we can only see the hinder part, the front part being hidden by
the lid (pl. XIII). In exaggerated efforts at breathing this space gets
considerably larger, so that, with a well-directed light, we can see
into the windpipe, of which the rings are plainly noticeable. It is even
possible to see the lowest part of the windpipe, where it is divided
into the two branches entering the lungs.
* * * * *
For the purpose of studying the movements of the vocal ligaments in the
act of singing, the vowel A, as in "sad" will be found the most
favourable, because the formation of the mouth, and the position of the
tongue which it necessitates, enable us to get a complete view of the
interior of the voicebox, which during the emission of other vowel
sounds is more or less hidden.
Mr. Lunn objects that all investigations with the laryngoscope are
valueless on account of the supposed necessity of holding the tip
of the protruding tongue. He says, in a letter to the "Orchestra"
(January, 1880): "One of our most promising singers told me he
could not rightly produce his voice when under laryngoscopic
investigation. It is a moral impossibility for all!" (A physical
impossibility would be more to the purpose.) "Let the reader pull
his tongue out with a napkin as far as he can, and sing, and he
will get some notion of the tone producible." There is no
foundation for this objection, because if a singer has his tongue
under proper control there is not the slightest occasion to put it
out and to hold it. As to pulling it out as far as one can, that
should not be done under any circumstances, and no man having the
slightest knowledge of laryngoscopy would suggest such a ridiculous
proceeding. In my own case the vocal ligaments can be seen from one
end to the other while I keep my tongue in its natural position,
and I am willing to demonstrate this fact to any one who has any
doubt in the matter.
As soon as we produce a tone, the pyramids, and with them the vocal
ligaments, meet, so as to touch each other more or less closely, while
there still remains a large space between the pocket ligaments above.
Every time we take breath, the pyramids with the vocal ligaments recede,
to meet again as before, every time we strike a new tone. The vocal
ligaments, thrown into vibrations by the stream of air passing between
them, cut, as it were, this stream of air into regular waves, and thus
(as more fully explained on p. 38) tone is produced.
We notice here that this tone-production may be originated in three
different ways:--(1) The vocal ligaments may meet _after_ the air has
commenced to pass between them. Of this an aspirate is the result. (2)
The vocal ligaments may meet _before_ the air has commenced to pass
between them. This causes a check or a click at the beginning of the
tone. (3) The vocal ligaments may meet just at the very moment when the
air passes between them. In this case the tone is properly struck. There
is nothing to make it indefinite as in case No. 1, and nothing to impede
it as in case No. 2. Production as in case No. 3 causes the tone to
travel much farther than production as in cases Nos. I and 2, and it is
this way of striking a tone which is known under the name of "Coup de
Glotte" or "Shock of the Glottis."
"But it is not a shock of the glottis at all," says Mr. Lunn, on
page 68 of the book quoted before. "It is an audible result arising
from the false cords [pocket ligaments] releasing condensed air
imprisoned below them, which air in its release explodes." I beg
leave to observe that condensed imprisoned air thus released could
produce a puff, but not a musical tone. The matter is, moreover,
capable of being demonstrated to the eye. The process takes place
as described above, and I am ready at any moment to show that the
pocket ligaments _never_ meet in singing. There can, therefore, be
no possibility of condensed air being imprisoned below them, and we
need not enter into any further argument on the subject.
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. BREATHING.
T. TONGUE.
L. LID.
V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS.
W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG.
S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI.
]
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. UPPER THICK.
T. T. TONGUE.
L. LID.
P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS.
V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS.
W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG.
S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI.
]
[Illustration: PLATE XV.
LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. UPPER THIN.
T. T. TONGUE.
L. LID.
P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS.
V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS.
W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG.
S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI.
]
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
LARYNGOSCOPIC IMAGE. SMALL.
T. T. TONGUE.
L. LID.
P. P. POCKET LIGAMENTS.
V. V. VOCAL LIGAMENTS.
W. W. CARTILAGES OF WRISBERG.
S. S. CARTILAGES OF SANTORINI.
]
We now proceed to study the Registers of the human voice. A very Babel
of confusion exists on this important subject, and we are not only
perplexed by a multiplicity of terms, but also by the various and often
contradictory meanings attached to them. Thus people talk of chest,
medium, mixed, throat, falsetto, and head registers, and these terms
being utterly unscientific--_i.e._, being based upon sensations and
fancies instead of physiological facts--no one can give a clear and
satisfactory definition of any one of them. To bring order into such
chaos is an almost hopeless undertaking, and the first step in this
direction is obviously to ask ourselves, What is the meaning of the word
"Register?" My reply is this: _A register consists of a series of tones
which are produced by the same mechanism_. Then comes the question, Can
any such registers be demonstrated in the vocal apparatus; and if so,
what are the mechanisms by which they are produced? The answer supplied
by the laryngoscope is, Yes. There are, broadly speaking, three
registers in the human voice, and the mechanisms are plainly visible, as
follows:--(1) During the lowest series of tones the vocal ligaments
vibrate in their entire thickness (pl. XIV). (2) During the next series
of tones the vocal ligaments vibrate only with their thin inner edges
(pl. XV). (3) During the highest series of tones a portion of the vocal
chink is firmly closed, and only a small part of the vocal ligaments
vibrates (pl. XVI).
In accordance with these physiological facts, Mr. Curwen, in his
admirable book "The Teacher's Manual," calls the registers _the Thick_,
_the Thin_, and _the Small_. These names have a scientific basis, and
their meaning cannot be misunderstood. They are already familiar to
thousands who study music by Mr. Curwen's method, and I have myself made
use of them in my lectures at University College and at other places. I
shall, therefore, also adopt them in this little work, and hope they
will soon find general acceptance among teachers and learners, as
thereby a great many misunderstandings will be avoided.
* * * * *
Our next business will be to ascertain how these registers are divided
among various voices, and the result as revealed by the laryngoscope is
rather startling. It consists in this, that the break between the Thick
and Thin occurs _in both sexes_ at about [Illustration: musical
notation] In order to realize the full meaning of this, the reader must
bear in mind that music for tenors is generally written an octave higher
than it is sung, so that the tones we are now speaking about would, as a
rule, in a tenor part be expressed by [Illustration: musical notation].
My assertion, therefore, amounts to this, that everything below
[Illustration: musical notation] whether sung by soprano, contralto,
tenor, or bass, is produced by one mechanism--that is to say, by the
vocal ligaments vibrating in their entire thickness; and that the series
of tones above [Illustration: musical notation] whether sung by bass,
tenor, contralto, or soprano, is again produced by one mechanism
(although a different one from the last), that is to say, by the vocal
ligaments vibrating only with their thin inner edges. Then there remains
the small register, which belongs almost exclusively to sopranos, and
which represents the series of tones above [Illustration: musical
notation].
I thus maintain, not only that the great break between the thick and the
thin occurs (individual differences apart) at the same place in both
sexes, but that (leaving for the moment sub-divisions out of
consideration) the male voice has but two registers--_i.e._, the Thick
and the Thin, while the female voice has three registers--_i.e._, the
Thick, the Thin, and the Small. From this it follows that the female
voice is _not_, as supposed by some, simply a reproduction of the male
an octave higher.
I have spoken of the above results of the investigations with the
laryngoscope as startling, because the female voicebox is generally
imagined to be exactly like the male, save in size, and the inference
that the female voice must be exactly like the male, save in pitch, is,
therefore, a very natural one. Neither am I surprised that those who
hold an opposite view to mine are never tired of advancing this
argument.
Mr. Lunn says, in the book quoted before, on page 24, "Consequently
it may safely be asserted that the vocal cords are subject to the
same laws as all sounding bodies, and as the sole difference
between the male and the female larynx is one of size alone, the
voice from the latter _is_ a reproduction of the former on a higher
scale."
I have, however, shown by the measurements of Luschka, on p. 64, that
the proportions of the female voicebox are materially different from
those of the male, and I have also pointed out differences in shape
noticeable to any observer. Now, although I do not pretend that I have
by these facts and figures sufficiently accounted for the difference in
the registers of the male and the female voice; yet these facts and
figures are nevertheless greatly in my favour, and they are certainly a
sufficient answer to the above argument of those who differ from me.
My case is further strengthened by the testimony of that eminent
physiologist, Dr. Merkel, who says,[N] "In the male organ there are only
two materially different registers to be noticed, the chest and the
falsetto, ... on the other hand, in the female organ there are clearly
to be distinguished three registers--a low, a medium, and a high." (From
Dr. Merkel's definitions on pp. 148, 149, and 152, it will be seen that
low, medium, and high, are but other names here employed for Thick,
Thin, and Small.) Dr. Merkel, speaking of the chest (thick) register,
goes on to observe, on p. 148, "It ceases, very curiously, in both sexes
on one of the first four tones of the one-lined octave (der
ein-gestrichenen Octave) [Illustration: musical notation] so that it is
about one octave longer [deeper] in man than in woman."
Let it be observed above all things that I am not propounding a theory,
but explaining a fact; a fact, moreover, which I have before now
demonstrated to men holding opposite opinions, thereby convincing them,
and which I am willing at any moment to demonstrate again. A very
striking proof that the distribution of the registers is in accordance
with my explanations may be further found in the circumstance that it is
often impossible to distinguish a male voice from a female when (other
things such as power and quality being equal) both sing in the same
registers. The similarity is, of course, greatest between tenor and
contralto, and in case of a trial they must confine themselves to the
compass easily belonging to both; neither should the singers be seen by
the listeners. I have frequently by these experiments convinced
sceptics; and it has happened more than once when the female voice was
slightly more robust than the male, that, to the great amusement of
those present, the judges emphatically and without the slightest
hesitation pronounced the lady to be the tenor and the gentleman the
contralto.
* * * * *
We have so far only spoken of three registers, the Thick, below
[Illustration: musical notation]; the Thin, between [Illustration: Music
and]; and the Small, above [Illustration: musical notation]. The
distinguishing features of these are so very clear as to make any
mistake impossible. But now we come to sub-divisions, and with regard to
these the matter is not so simple. Singers know very well that other
breaks occur in the human voice besides those hitherto mentioned, and
the question arises how they are to be accounted for by corresponding
changes in the vocal organ. The evidence furnished on this point by the
laryngoscope is, in my opinion, not sufficient, because the alterations
in the vocal ligaments are so exceedingly minute as to be capable of
being differently interpreted by different observers. I have
consequently come to the conclusion that they cannot be accepted as
indicating changes of mechanism unless corroborated and amplified by
other signs.
In order to place the whole subject before the reader in a comprehensive
form, I cannot do better than quote the elaborate description which
Madame Emma Seiler gives of the registers in "The Human Voice in
Singing" (Philadelphia, 1875). Madame Seiler, to whom Mr. Lunn is
pleased to refer, on p. 65 of his treatise, as an "ignorant person,"
assisted Professor Helmholtz, of Heidelberg, in his essay upon the
Formation of the Vowel-tones and the Registers of the Female Voice. He
says he thus had "an opportunity of knowing the delicacy of her musical
ear, and her ability to master the more difficult and abstract parts of
the theory of music." The Professor further speaks of her as "a very
careful, skilled, and learned teacher." Professor Du Bois-Reymond, of
Berlin, also describes her as "a lady of truly remarkable attainments."
With such recommendations I make no apology for quoting at length from
Madame Seiler's writings; and it will be readily understood that
whenever I differ from her, I do so with some diffidence, and only after
careful conviction of the accuracy of my own independent observations.
[Illustration]
I shall substitute the terms hitherto used in these pages for others
employed by Madame Seiler, and I have added a diagram of the
registers, which may assist the reader in forming a clear idea of the
subject.
THE THICK REGISTER.
"When the vowel A, as in 'man,' was sung, I could, after long-continued
practice, plainly see how the pyramids quickly rose with their summits
in their mucous membranous case and approached to mutual contact. In
like manner the vocal ligaments approached each other so closely that
scarcely any space between them was observable. The pocket ligaments
formed the ellipse described by Garcia in the upper part of the
glottis."
The word "glottis" really signifies the vibrating element in the
voicebox. I suppose, therefore, that by "the upper part of the glottis"
Madame Seiler here means the "part above the glottis."
"When, in using the laryngoscope upon myself, I slowly sang the
ascending scale, this movement of the vocal ligaments and pyramids was
repeated at every tone. They separated and appeared to retreat, in order
to close again anew, and to rise somewhat more than before. This
movement of the pyramids may best be compared to that of a pair of
scissors. With every higher tone the vocal ligaments seemed more
stretched, and the vocal chink somewhat shorter. At the same time, when
I sang the scale upward, beginning with the lowest tones, the vocal
ligaments seemed to be moved in their whole length and breadth by large,
loose vibrations, which extended even to all the rest of the interior of
the voicebox.
* * * * *