nown to furnish the basis for
a practical science of Voice Culture.

_The Anatomy of the Vocal Mechanism_

This subject has been so exhaustively studied that nothing new can well
be discovered regarding the muscular structure of the vocal organs. In
all probability the reader is sufficiently acquainted with the anatomy
of the larynx and its connections. Only a very brief outline of the
subject is therefore demanded. The muscles concerned with breathing
call for no special notice in this connection.

The special organ of voice is the larynx. This consists of four
cartilages, with their connecting ligaments,--the thyroid, the cricoid,
and the two arytenoids, and of nine so-called intrinsic muscles,--two
crico-thyroid, right and left, two thyro-arytenoid, two posterior
crico-arytenoid, two lateral crico-arytenoid, and one arytenoideus. The
inner edges of the thyro-arytenoid muscles form the vocal cords. The
hyoid bone, serving as a medium of attachment for the tongue, may also
be considered a portion of the larynx. By means of the extrinsic muscles
the larynx is connected with the bones of the chest, neck, and head.

While the muscular structure of the vocal organs is thoroughly known,
the actions of the laryngeal muscles in tone-production have never been
absolutely determined. This much is definitely established: Vocal tone
is produced when the vocal cords are brought together and held on
tension, and the air in the lungs is expired with sufficient force to
set the vocal cords in motion. The tension of the vocal cords can be
increased by the contraction of their muscular tissues, the two
thyro-arytenoid muscles; further, increased tension of the cords can
also result from the tilting of the thyroid cartilage on the cricoid, by
the contraction of the crico-thyroid muscles.

It is also definitely proved that the pitch of the vocal tone varies
with the state of tension of the vocal cords; increasing the degree of
tension raises the pitch, decreasing the tension lowers it. As to the
relative importance of the different groups of muscles in varying the
tension of the vocal cords, nothing has been definitely proved.

In addition to the variations in pitch resulting from variations in the
tension of the vocal cords, there is also much ground for believing that
the pitch may be raised by shortening the effective length of the vocal
cords. This is apparently accomplished by the rotation of the arytenoid
cartilages; but the