f intonation.
All the gradations of loud and soft, all the lights and shades of
sentiment or passion, seem to respond directly to the singer's
instinctive desire for musical expression. On the physical side the
singer's voice is felt by the hearer to be in a condition of balanced
and harmonious muscular activity.

When the possessor of a good natural voice goes through a proper course
of vocal training, the faults of production native to the untrained
voice are gradually corrected. Wrong muscular tension is imperceptibly
relaxed. Little by little the student acquires facility in handling the
voice. Coincident with this progress is the advance toward the correct
vocal action. The transition from the natural to the perfect use of the
voice is gradual and imperceptible. There is no stage of progress at
which the operations of the voice radically change in character. At no
time does the student change the manner of managing the voice. Effects
difficult at first gradually become easier, simply as the result of
practice. This is the only change that the voice undergoes in training.

One influence, and only one, can interfere with this normal development
of the voice. This is the involuntary and unconscious stiffening of the
throat. In the normal practice of singing nothing is involved which
could cause the throat to stiffen. True, the first stages of study are
usually marked by a slight degree of stiffness, due solely to the lack
of practice and experience. This initial stiffness does not tend to
become habitual; it disappears before the student becomes aware of it,
and leaves no permanent trace on the voice. That is, provided mechanical
instruction does not intervene, to introduce the tendency directly to
stiffen the throat.

As the initial stiffness disappears, and the vocal action gradually
becomes smooth and automatic, the voice begins to take on the
characteristics of perfect tone-production. The voice rounds out, the
tones become free and true, and in perfect tune. No excessive throat
tension being present, the voice conforms to the correct empirical
standard of tone-production. It gives evidence to the ear of correct
support and of open throat. The tones issue freely from the mouth and
convey no impression of throat or nose.

As a matter of experience it is known that vocal students generally make
satisfactory progress in the first few months of study. This is
perfectly natural. It requires several months for the n