he art of breathing was beginning to be more an
object of study, but the true value of correct lateral abdominal
breathing was by no means generally admitted or appreciated. It was
still taught that the larynx (voice-box) should bob up and down like a
jack-in-a-box with each change of pitch, and that "female breathing"
must be performed with a pumping action of the chest and the
elevation and depression of the collar bone.

Fortunately, teachers and singers recognized a good tone when they
heard it, and many taught much better than they knew, so that the
public did not have to wait for the development of accurate knowledge
of the subject before hearing excellent singing and speaking. Yet many
singers had their voices ruined in the training, and their success as
vocalists made impossible; while others, a little less unfortunate,
were still handicapped through life by the injury done by mistaken
methods in early years. Jenny Lind's perfect vocal organs were quite
disabled at twelve years of age by wrong methods, and they recovered
only after a protracted season of rest. As a consequence her beautiful
voice began to fail long before her splendid physique, and long before
her years demanded. Singers taught in nature's way should be able to
sing so long as strength lasts, and, like Adelaide Phillips, Carl
Formes, and Sims Reeves, sing their sweetest songs in the declining
years of life. Martel, at seventy years of age, had a full, rich
voice. He focused all his tones alike, and employed deep abdominal
breathing.

The whole matter of voice training has been clouded by controversy.
The strident advocates of various systems, each of them "the only true
method," have in their disputes overcast the subject with much that is
irrelevant, thus obscuring its essential simplicity.

The "scientific" teachers, at one extreme, have paid too exclusive
attention to the mechanics of the voice. The "empiricists" have gone
to the other extreme in leaving out of account fundamental facts in
acoustics, physiology, and psychology.

The truth is that no purely human function, especially one so subtle
as singing, can be developed mechanically; nor, on the other hand, can
the mere _ipse dixit_ of any teacher satisfy the demands of the modern
spirit.

PRINCIPLES ADVOCATED

The positions here advocated, because they seem both rational and
simple, are:

=1. That the singing and speaking tones are identical, produced by the
same organs in t