e, in the
pronunciation of every letter.

Furthermore, by looking in the mirror we can _see_ that the sides of
the tongue are raised as soon as we wish to form a furrow in it; that
is, as we _must_ do to produce the palatal resonance. (Only in the
head tone--that is, the use of the resonance of the head cavities
without the added palatal resonance--has the tongue no furrow; it
must, however, lie very high, since otherwise its mass, when it lies
flat, presses against the larynx and produces pinched or otherwise
disagreeable tones.)

The best way is to get the mass of the tongue out of the way by
forming the furrow in it. In high notes, when the larynx must stand as
high as possible, the back of the tongue also must stand very high;
but since there is a limit to this, we are often compelled to make the
larynx take a lower position.

[Illustration: Correct. Incorrect.]

The correct position of the tongue, preparatory to singing, is gained
by saying the vowel sound _aou_, as if about to yawn.

The tongue must not scrape around upward with its tip. As soon as the
tip has been employed in the pronunciation of the consonants _l_, _n_,
_s_, _t_, and _z_, in which its service is very short and sharp, it
must return to its former position, and keep to it.

It is best to watch the movements of the tongue in the mirror until we
have formed the correct habit permanently. The more elastic the tongue
is in preparing the form for the breath to pass through, the stiller
will it appear, the stiller will it feel to us. It is well, however,
for a considerable time to watch in a mirror all functions of the
organs that can be seen; the expression of the face, the position of
the mouth, and the movement of the lips.

SECTION XI

THE SENSATIONS OF THE PALATE

The sensations of the palate are best made clear to us by raising the
softest part behind the nose. This part is situated very far back. Try
touching it carefully with the finger. This little part is of
immeasurable importance to the singer. By raising it the entire
resonance of the head cavities is brought into play--consequently the
head tones are produced. When it is raised, the pillars of the fauces
are lowered. In its normal position it allows the pillars to be
distended and to close the head cavities off from the throat, in order
to produce the chest tones; that is, to permit the breath to make
fullest use of the palatal resonance. As soon as the soft palate is