ORATOR'S MANUAL.

VOCAL CULTURE.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS HOW TO USE THE ORGANS WHILE BREATHING, VOCALIZING AND ARTICULATING.

1. Always inhale through the nostrils.

a. These warm and filter the air, and thus prevent it from either chilling or irritating the vocal passages. If the mouth is open, as in speaking, keep the back of the tongue against the palate. When inhaling in this way the voice will not become husky.

2. Always draw the air into the lungs by making the abdomen press forward, and force the air out, whether vocalized or not, by contracting the abdomen, or making it sink in.

a. Under the breathing and over the digestive organs, separating the two, is the diaphragm, the muscles of which are so formed as to act in the lungs like a piston in a pump's cylinder. These are the only muscles in the body so made and placed as to draw into the lungs all the air possible; or to force it out of them in such a way as to produce the most powerful and effective sounds. When this diaphragm sinks, to draw in the air, it crowds down the abdomen and pushes it outward. When the diaphragm rises, to force out the air, it contracts and draws in the abdomen. Babes and strong men breath and speak thus, naturally. Weak persons, and those who sit or stoop much, acquire a habit of using mainly the muscles of the upper chest, the lifting of which, in order to inhale, draws the abdomen in, and the dropping of which, in order to exhale, forces the abdomen out. This habit weakens the lower lungs, by keeping one from using them. It weakens, also, the upper lungs, by employ

ing them for a purpose for which they are not fitted. Besides this, as it does not expel the air from the bottom of the lungs, it lessens the quantity of breath used in vocalizing; and also, as the chest, while one is speaking thus, contracts the upper bronchial tubes, which otherwise would expand and vibrate during the utterance, it lessens the resonance of the tones.

b. The proper order in deep breathing is to expand first the abdomen, i. e. the front, and at the same time the sides and back of the waist, then the lower ribs at the sides, then the upper chest; and in exhaling, to contract first the abdomen and waist, then the lower ribs at the sides, and last, the chest. This will be acquired through the exercises in § 8.

c. To acquire the use of the diaphragm in vocalizing, after inhaling, draw in the abdomen suddenly, by an act of will, and at the same time gently cough out hoo-ho-haw or hah, as in the exercise in § 10. After a few days the contraction of the abdomen, which at first is merely produced at the same time as the vocal utterance, will come to be the cause that produces it.

3. Always mould or articulate vowels and consonants as near the lips and as far from the throat as possible.

a. The passages of the nose, and of the throat near to the vocal cords, are designed to act on the voice mainly as a bell's cavity, to throw the tones forward, or give them resonance. When they share in the contraction of the muscles that takes place in articulating, the strength and sweetness of the voice, as well as the health of these passages, is impaired. In acquiring the proper use of these organs, the first thing is to get the muscles in the back part of the mouth in the habit of expanding to let the sounds come forward. Hence the silent muscular exercises - those of coughing, yawning, gasping, sobbing and laughing—and the continued practice (which must be attempted many times before even the sounds can be produced properly) of the elementary vowel sounds of oh, aw and ah, recommended in §§ 7-10.

What has been said of the nature and functions of the organs used in producing words will be found to contain, in concise form, all that the ordinary student of elocution needs to know for practical purposes, i. e. to enable him to understand the general reasons underlying the methods prescribed in the exercises §§ 7-15. Those who wish to study these subjects theoretically and thoroughly will of course consult some good anatomy.

4. When one's articulation is defective, he should find out what letters or combinations of letters represent the sounds that he fails to give, and learn how to adjust the organs of his mouth so as to frame these letters properly. For the benefit of such the following directions are inserted. Comparatively few will be obliged to study them.

VOWELS.

a in ah. Draw in the breath as if about to yawn; then with the teeth about three-fourths of an inch apart, lips drawn back from them, mouth open laterally at the back, tongue drawn down with its middle's side-edges slightly curled up, throw forward the tone, forming the sound just forward of the palate. (See, also, § 10.)

a in all. Same as above. With the lips less drawn back, lower jaw pushed forward a little, tongue relaxed in lower part of mouth, its tip touching lower teeth, form the sound just under the palate. (See § 10.)

a in at. Draw in the breath naturally, then same as last. With the center of the tongue more elevated and its side-edges up, form the sound in front of palate.

a in ale. Same. With mouth less open and the center of the tongue more elevated, its side-edges touching the upper back teeth, form the sound between these.

e in eve. With the upper and lower teeth near (not touching) each other, lower jaw slightly projecting, lips apart and sides of the mouth drawn slightly back, showing the eye-teeth, tongue against upper back teeth, its tip almost touching the roof of the mouth just back of the upper front inside gums, form the sound between the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth just back of the upper eye-teeth.

e in end. Same position as in a in ale, but uttered more rapidly and with the tip of the tongue slightly lower down.

e in her. Same position as in the last, except that the tongue is curled up against the roof of the mouth about one quarter of an inch back of the upper front teeth. The final r is then formed by pushing the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, leaving A small space between the two.

i in it. Same position as in e in eve, but uttered more rapidly, with the front of the tongue slightly lower down.

i in ice. Begin with the position of a in ah, and pass at once to that of i in it.

o in no. With the teeth apart as in ah, but the lips pushed over them, forming an oval in front, the cheeks slightly drawn in, the lower jaw thrust forward, and the tongue drawn back, form the sound just behind the upper and lower front gums.

o in on. Same position as in a in ah, but uttered more rapidly. (See § 5.)

oo in book and ooze. Take the position of o in no, then push the lips nearer together and farther forward in book, and still farther forward in ooze. The sound in both cases is made between the lips. oi in oil. Begin with the position of a in all, and pass at once to that of i in in.

ou in our. Begin with the position of o in on, and pass at once to that of oo in ooze.

u in up. With the teeth as near together as in e in eve, the lips apart in a natural position, the tongue relaxed and full, its tip against the lower front teeth, make the sound just under the uvula, by a slight forward movement of the lower jaw.

u in use. Begin with the position of e in eve, and pass at once to that of oo.

u in bull. Same as oo in look shortened.

a, e, i, o, u, y, aw, ew, ow, in any, they, marine, fir, son, wolf, or, rude, my, very, law, few, now, represent respectively the same sounds as are in end, ale, eve, her, up, bull, all, ooze, ice, in, all, use, our.

The following table has been arranged so as to show, when read up and down, how the vowel sounds approach each other, but chiefly to bring out another important fact, which, strangely enough to one who considers how much the position of the tongue has to do with the vowel sounds, seems hitherto to have been almost entirely overlooked.

5. Table showing Vowel Sounds, and how they are modified by consonant sounds that follow them:

In each line below, when read across the page, the vowel sound is the same, but, whenever one pronounces it quickly and naturally, the consonant following it changes the position of the tongue, so that, instinctively and necessarily, this is

*Those who are manufacturing phonetic alphabets should notice that the peculiar sound of the vowel that distinguishes ask and bath from fat, far and

6. These are divided into sub-vocals, which are all uttered with a murmuring sound which one should learn to prolong and make loud; and aspirates, which are produced by a current of the whispering breath, forced through certain positions of the lips, tongue or palate. I. Sub-vocals that have no corresponding Aspirates.

a. In these, the breath passes through the nostrils:

The lips are closed in m in moon.

The lips are open in n in noon, and the tongue's tip touches upper inside front gums.

The lips are open in ng in anguish, and the tongue's middle touches the palate.

b. In these, the breath passes through the mouth:

The tip of the tongue in 1 in dwell touches the mouth's roof just behind the upper inside front gums, and the breath passes around the tip at either side of the tongue.

The tip of the tongue in y in your is down, its sides touch the upper side teeth, and the breath passes between its middle and the palate.

The sides of the tongue in r in row touch the upper side teeth, the tip is turned upward and backward, and the breath passes between it and a point in the mouth's roof about half an inch behind the gums.

The tongue in r in core is slightly farther forward.

II. Sub-vocals, with their corresponding Aspirates.

a. In these the breath is checked and confined till the organs separate to give it explosive vent. This separation is in the

father from what, and bur from but, depends on the following consonant, and therefore needs no separate vowel representative. Ask and bath are to fat as quiz and rhythm to it, buzz and mother to but, puss and butcher to put, browse and mouthing to out; so between father and what the difference is no greater than between author and God, or mouthing and out; and bur is to but as far to what, poor to moot, mere to meet.

*The movements of the tongue in pronouncing all these will show that there is a double action of the vocal organs, but the second or vanishing sound is distinctly recognized only when it is one that might be represented by some form of I or u, which two stand at the extremes of the regularly graded series, i, e, a, o, u; so the last vowels in music (iu) and fractious (iu) are more distinct than in lain (ea) and piece (ie).