m granted. It remains, then, for those in charge of school music to
expedite their work by means of simple and direct methods.

Each division of the music work must be carried so as to secure unity of
result. The vocal drill, oral or written, will train the eye and ear for
sight-singing, and the sight-singing be a practical application of
correct vocal drill.

The study and practice of the different vowel-sounds must then _fit in_
with the scheme of study. The practice of singing the vowels by name as,
_a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_, is not to be recommended, as only one, namely
_e_, stands for a single sound-element; nor is it probable that the
results will justify extensive drill upon the more obscure
vowel-elements, if the term may be applied to those sounds which are
differentiated only slightly from the more pronounced vowel-sounds.

There are some twenty vowel-sounds that are used in English speech, but
for various reasons a less number are employed in song. For, while it is
desirable to give to each word and syllable its correct vowel-sound in
singing, those which are unfavorable to good tone are usually
approximated to the sound of those more favorable to good tone.

If too marked distinctions in the vowel-sounds are made by the singer,
the result is disagreeable; while if the voice preserves a similar hue
or tone-color throughout, the effect is pleasing.

The listener is unaware of the slight deviations from the spoken
vowel-sound which the singer makes, that the requirements of tonal
beauty may be met.

It is advisable in vowel-practice to avoid letters or symbols which
represent two sounds, an initial and a vanish; and to use simple vowel
elements instead. The combinations of different elements represented by
certain letters and diphthongs may easily be explained when they appear
in the words of a song, if, indeed, the study of phonics has not already
cleared away all difficulties.

In singing, however, it is necessary to understand which of the two
sounds, the initial or the vanish, is to be sustained. In _[-a]_, for
instance, which is _eh_+_e_, if the vanish _e_ is sustained in a word
like _day_ the effect is _deh-ee_. The first sound should be sustained,
and the vanish _e_ be heard only slightly as the mouth partly closes at
the end of the tone. _[-I]_, again, which is equivalent to _ah_+_e_,
is often sung by prolonging the _e_ instead of the initial _ah_, as
_light--li-eet_. _[-O]_ is a compound sound _[-