to modify the opening into the nose and thus
attune the resonant cavities to the pitch and timbre of the note given
by the vocal cords and pharynx. To develop the vowel sounds, the soft
palate should be drawn forward, allowing a free passage into the nose;
it should be closed only to form the consonants which require a
forcible expulsion of breath from the mouth.

The uvula, the pendulous tip of the soft palate, serves as a valve to
more accurately adjust the opening behind the soft palate to the pitch
of the voice. In producing a low tone the soft palate is relaxed and
hangs low down and far forward. As the voice ascends the scale the
tension of the soft palate is increased and it is elevated and the
uvula shortened, thus decreasing the opening behind the palate, but
never closing it. In fact the larger the opening that can be
maintained, the broader and better the tone. The author was himself
unable fully to appreciate this until he had become able to sense the
position of the soft palate during vocalization.

THE HARD PALATE AND TEETH

The hard palate and upper teeth form in part the walls of the mouth.
As they are solid fixtures, nothing can be done in the way of
training. They furnish a point of impingement in articulation, and
play their part in sympathetic resonance.

The bones which form the roof of the mouth serve also for the floor of
the nasal cavity.

The under teeth also serve as walls of resistance to support the
tongue during the performance of its functions.

THE NASAL AND HEAD CAVITIES

The nasal and head cavities are resonating chambers incapable of
special training, but their form, size, and the use made of them have
a wonderful effect upon the resonance of the voice. If the vibrations
are strong here, all other parts will vibrate in harmonious action.

When responding to the perfectly focused tone the thin walls of the
cavities and the contained air vibrate with surprising force, often
for the moment blinding the singer when sounding a note intensely.

Having in my surgical work demonstrated the existence of a hitherto
unrecognized connecting passage or canal between the air cavities of
the face and those of the forehead,[2] the play of resonance in the
cavities above the nostrils is more easily understood. The function of
the cavities known as the _frontal sinuses_ (see Fig. 1) has long been
a mystery, but now that their direct connection with the lower
cavities is proven, and the gre