The trachea, or windpipe, is a cylindrical tube extending from the lower
part of the larynx to where it divides into the bronchi. The interior
surface is firm and beautiful.
_ORGANS WHICH GIVE RESONANT FORMS TO VOICE._
Lips,
Upper gum,
Hard palate,
Soft palate,
Tongue,
Nares.
Although the quality of the voice produced by the vocal cords of the
human being cannot be distinguished from that produced by the vocal
cords of the lower animals the organs which resound it give it a
distinct quality.
No one of these agents alone molds the tone, but their proper relation
to each other constitutes resonant molds as definite as those into which
melted ore is cast to give it form and stamp. This proper relationship
cannot be secured by exercising the organs in any strictly mechanical
way, but only by forming definite ideal tones in the mind and exercising
the voice while these ideal tones are firmly fixed as steady objects of
thought. If these mental objects drop from the mind at any time during
the vocal practice, no mechanical ingenuity can possibly take their
places in rightly affecting the voice.
Later in this work, I shall more fully elaborate this point.
=_RELATION OF THE PROPER USE OF THE
VOICE TO HEALTH._=
Many years of observation and study have convinced me that the voice
exerts a powerful effect upon the whole physical system. It either
builds up the body, sustains its power and adds to its health, or it
devitalizes the body and brings a dangerous strain upon the entire
system.
The voice cannot be a reporter of the person, mental and physical,
without holding the most delicate relations to mind and body. The
exercise of the voice subtly and vitally affects the organs that promote
health and give life. I could give many illustrations showing that the
wrong use of the voice has injured health, and that its right use has
promoted health; but if the principles involved in this chapter are
fully understood, I need not relate incidents to prove that the voice is
a life-giver or a death-dealer, depending entirely upon _how_ it is
used.
The Greeks were taught the right use of the voice as a part of their
physical, intellectual, and moral culture. In modern times we have
neglected voice culture to a very great extent, and have suffered much
ill health in consequence.
_RELATION OF THE PROPER USE OF THE VOICE TO THE VITAL ORGANS._