may be increased in the deepest inspiration to about
one hundred cubic inches. In forcible expiration about one hundred
cubic inches may be expelled, but even then the residual air that
cannot be expelled is about one hundred cubic inches.

[Footnote 3: Dr. Wesley Mills, _Voice Production_, 1906.]

It is not, however, the quantity of breath inhaled that is
significant, it is the amount _controlled_. Get, therefore, all the
breath necessary, and keep it, but without undue effort and _without
rigidity_.

To test the amount of breath used in prolonged vocalization, a person
skilled in the art of breathing, after an ordinary inspiration, closed
his lips, stopped his nostrils, and began to vocalize. He found that
the mouth with distended cheeks held sufficient breath to continue a
substantial tone for twenty-three seconds.

While these experiments show that very little amount or force of
breath is needed to produce effective tones, the impression must exist
in the mind of the performer that there is a free flow of breath
through the larynx; otherwise the tone will seem restricted and will
be weak. The forced holding back of the breath begets a restraint that
has a bad effect on the singer's delivery. While the breath must be
controlled, there is such a thing as an exaggerated "breath control"
that makes free delivery of the voice impossible.

It is quite possible to _overcrowd_ the lungs with air. Do not,
therefore, make the mistake of always taking the largest possible
breath. Reserve this for the climaxes, and inhale according to the
requirements of the phrase and its dynamics. The constant taking of
too much breath is a common mistake, but trying to sing too long on
one breath is another.

THE INITIAL USE OF BREATH FORCE

The breath force when properly employed seems to be expended in
starting the vibrations in the larynx; the vibrations are then
transmitted to the air in the resonance cavities, and there the
perfected tone sets the outer air in motion, through which the tone
vibrations are conveyed to the ear of the listener.

RESERVE BREATH POWER

The correctly trained singer or speaker will never allow the breath
power to be exhausted. Some breath should be taken in at every
convenient interval between the words, according to the punctuation,
but never between syllables of a word; this is correct phrasing. In
this way the lungs are kept nearly full, and breathing is at its best.

The chief cause of bre