or from C to C. If
it is attempted to carry the voice down it changes to the chest register
unless used very lightly.

Without attempting then to lay down positive rules for treating a voice
which consists of fragments of voices, the above suggestions are made in
the hope that they may receive the consideration of teachers and
musicians.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ALTO VOICE IN MALE CHOIRS.

The suggestions of the preceding chapters are addressed directly to
those who teach vocal music in public or private schools, but the
general principles and rules are equally applicable to the training of
soprano choir boys.

The results in beauty and power of tone which may be obtained from
carefully selected choir boys can seldom be equalled in the school-room,
first, because training is required to develop voices in strength and
purity of tone, and the time devoted generally to school singing, one
hour a week possibly, is no more than that given to a single rehearsal
of choristers.

Again school singing includes all members of the class, and while it is
true that there may be but few pupils in each room who cannot sing, yet
there are likely to be some.

These voices, which we call monotones disappear almost entirely when
pupils are trained to use the head voice. Still, there is a percentage
in every class in school, whose inherited musical perceptions are very
feeble, and their slowness cannot but retard the general progress.

Many of the difficulties that beset the teacher of music in schools,
then, are eliminated at the start by the choir trainer, when he selects
boys with good voices, who sing in tune naturally.

The increase in the number of vested choirs in this country has been
very rapid during the past few years, and fortunately, the ideas which
have prevailed among the majority of choir-masters on the subject of the
boy voice, have been just. This is easily understood when we reflect
that we have made the best English standards our ideal.

The leaven of sound doctrine on the boy voice is working rapidly, and
there are many choirs both in our large and small cities that are
excellent examples of well-trained soprano boys.

There is, however, one problem of male choir training which is not yet
satisfactorily solved, at least it is troublesome to those choirs which
have a small or moderate appropriation for music.

Boy sopranos are plentiful, basses and tenors are easily obtained, but
good male altos, men,