ely related, are so interdependent,
that repetition cannot be avoided. I am not offering an apology for this; I
am simply stating that a certain amount of repetition is necessary.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE
EXORDIUM

PART FIRST.

_EVOLUTION_.

ARTICLE 1. THE OLD ITALIAN SCHOOL OF SINGING
" 2. THE DARK AGES OF THE VOCAL ART
" 3. THE TWO PREVAILING SYSTEMS
" 4. THE RENAISSANCE OF THE VOCAL ART
" 5. THE COMING SCHOOL OR SYSTEM
" 6. CONDITIONS
" 7. THE INFLUENCE OF RIGHT BODILY ACTION

RAISON D'ETRE

PART SECOND.

_VITALITY_.

ARTICLE 1. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC TONE-PRODUCTION
" 2. THE SECOND PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC TONE-PRODUCTION
" 3. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC TONE-PRODUCTION

PART THIRD.

_AESTHETICS_.

ARTICLE 1. THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC SINGING
" 2. THE FIFTH PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC SINGING
" 3. THE SIXTH PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC SINGING
" 4. THE SEVENTH PRINCIPLE OF ARTISTIC SINGING

EXORDIUM.

Man, to see far and clearly, must rise above his surroundings. To win great
possessions, to master great truths, we must climb all the hills, all the
mountains, which confront us. Unfortunately the vocal profession dwells too
much upon the lowlands of tradition, or is buried too deep in the valleys
of prejudice. Better things, however, will come. They must come. The
current of the advanced thought, the higher thought, of this, the opening
year of the twentieth century, will slowly but surely increase in power and
influence, will slowly but surely broaden and deepen, until the light of
reason breaks upon the vocal world. We may confidently look, in the near
future, for the Renaissance of the Vocal Art.

PART FIRST.

_EVOLUTION._

ARTICLE ONE.

THE OLD ITALIAN SCHOOL OF SINGING.

The Shibboleth, or trade cry, of the average modern vocal teacher is "The
Old Italian School of Singing." How much of value there is in this may be
surmised when we stop to consider that of the many who claim to teach the
true Old Italian method no two of them teach at all alike, unless they
happen to be pupils of the same master.

A system, a method, or a theory is not true simply because it is old. It
may be old and true; it may be old and false. It may be new and false; or,
what is more important, it may be new and yet true; age alone cannot stamp
it with the mark of truthfulness.

The truth is, we know but l