principles.

When fully understood, a practical science of Voice Culture is seen to
embrace only three topics,--the musical education of the student, the
training of the ear, and the acquirement of skill in the use of the
voice. The avoidance of throat stiffness is not properly a separate
topic of Vocal Science, as in rational instruction nothing should ever
be done to cause the throat to stiffen. Let us consider in detail these
three topics of practical Vocal Science.

_The Musical Education of a Singer_

Every singer should be a well-educated and accomplished musician. This
does not mean that the singer must be a capable performer on the piano
or violin; yet some facility in playing the piano is of enormous benefit
to the singer. A general understanding of the art of music is not
necessarily dependent on the ability to play any instrument. The
rudiments of music may quite well be mastered through the study of sight
singing. This was the course adopted by the old masters, and it will
serve equally well in our day.

One of the evil results of the introduction of the mechanical idea in
Voice Culture is that almost the entire lesson time is devoted to the
matter of tone-production. To the rudiments of music no attention
whatever is usually paid. Many vocal students realize the need of a
general musical training, and seek it through studying the piano and
through choir and chorus singing. But the vocal teacher seldom finds
time to teach his pupils to read music at sight. This is a serious
mistake. The artistic use of the voice is dependent on the possession of
a trained ear and a cultured musical taste. Ear training and musical
culture are greatly facilitated by a knowledge of the technical basis of
the art of music. This latter is best acquired, by the vocal student at
any rate, through the study of sight reading.

Sight singing and the rudiments of music are taught to better advantage
in class work than in private individual instruction. The class system
also secures a great saving of time to the teacher. Every teacher should
form a little class in sight reading and choral singing, made up of all
his pupils. An hour or an hour and a half each week, devoted by the
entire class to the study of sight singing and simple part songs and
choruses, would give an ample training to all the pupils in this
important branch of the art of music.

Many vocal teachers advise their pupils not to sing in choirs and
choruses. There