ples of faulty
vocalism, such as prevailed in a country town, and to be subjected to
the errors then in vogue, having at the same time small opportunity
for training in the application of principles, even as then
imperfectly taught. At middle life I had given up all attempt at
singing and had difficulty in speaking so as to be heard at any
considerable distance or for any considerable length of time.
Professional obligations to my patients, however, compelled me later
to take up the subject of vocal physiology. This I did, guided by the
ideas current on the subject.

About 1880 I became satisfied that many of the current ideas were
incorrect, and determined to start anew, and to note in detail the
action of each organ used in vocalization and articulation. To this
end I sought vocal instruction and advice, which, modified by my own
observations, have produced the most gratifying results.

Up to that time it had been held that the nasal cavities must be cut
off from the mouth by the closing of the soft palate against the back
of the throat; that the passage of ever so little of the sound above
the palate would give a nasal twang, and that the sound was reinforced
and developed only in the cavities of the throat and mouth. My
practice in Oral Surgery, coupled with my own vocal studies exposed
this fallacy and revealed to me the true value of nasal resonance.

The late Mme. Rudersdorff had begun to recognize the effect of nasal
resonance, but she left no published record of her conclusions. It
does not appear that she or her contemporaries realized the true value
of the nasal and head cavities as reinforcing agents in the production
of tone, or appreciated their influence upon its quality and power.

There are perhaps few subjects on which a greater variety of opinion
exists than on that of voice culture, and few upon which so many
volumes have been written. Few points are uncontested, and exactly
opposite statements are made in regard to each.

Formerly great stress was laid upon the distinction between "head
tones" and "chest tones," "closed tones" and "open tones." The whole
musical world was in bondage to "registers of the voice," and the one
great task confronting the singer and vocal teacher was to "blend the
registers," a feat still baffling the efforts of many instructors.

Many teachers and singers have now reached what they consider a
demonstrated conclusion that registers are not a natural feature of
the