ns of the singer's breathing. As Frangcon-Davies justly
remarks,--"All combatants are agreed on one point, viz., that the
singer's breath is an acquired one of some kind." (_The Singing of the
Future_, David Frangcon-Davies, M.A., London, 1906.) This is purely an
assumption on the part of the vocal theorists. No one has ever so much
as attempted to offer scientific proof of the statement.

Further, it is frequently stated that the old Italian masters paid much
attention to the subject of breathing; the assumption is also made that
these masters approached the subject in the modern spirit. Neither this
statement, nor the assumption based on it, is susceptible of proof. Tosi
and Mancini do not even mention the subject of breathing.

Breathing has been made the subject of exhaustive mechanical and
muscular analysis, for one reason, and for only one reason. This is,
because the action of breathing is the only mechanical feature of
singing which can be exhaustively studied. The laryngeal action is
hidden; the influence of the resonance cavities cannot well be
determined. But the whole muscular operation of breathing can be readily
seen and studied; any investigator can personally experiment with every
conceivable system.

Furthermore, the adoption of any system of breathing has no influence
whatever on the operations of the voice. A student of singing may learn
to take breath in any way favored by the instructor; the manner of
tone-production is not in the least affected. Even if the correct use of
the voice has to be acquired, the mode of breathing does not contribute
in any way to this result.

All that need be said in criticism of the various doctrines of breathing
is, that the importance of this subject has been greatly overestimated.
Breath and life are practically synonymous. Nothing but the prevalence
of the mechanical idea has caused so much attention to be paid to the
singer's breathing. A tuba player will march for several hours in a
street parade, carrying his heavy instrument, and playing it fully half
the time; yet the vocal theorist does not consider him an object of
sympathy.

No doubt the acquirement of healthy habits of breathing is of great
benefit to the general health. But this does not prove that correct
singing demands some kind of breathing inherently different from
ordinary life. To inspire quickly and exhale the breath slowly is not an
acquired ability; it is the action of ordinary speech. Singi