are handled by
modern teachers in a purely empirical fashion.

_Movements of the Larynx, Tongue, and Soft Palate_

It was remarked, in speaking of the registers, that no mechanical means
has ever been found for directly controlling the operations of the vocal
cords. To this statement one apparent exception is seen in the method
originated by John Howard. This earnest student of the voice sought to
carry out, to its logical conclusion, the accepted idea of mechanical
vocal control. In this respect he stands practically alone. His is the
only method which even pretends to reduce the entire operation of
correct tone-production to a set of defined muscular contractions.

Howard's theories, with the details of a practical method based thereon,
are fully described in his most important published work, _The
Physiology of Artistic Singing_, New York, 1886. A complete exposition
of Howard's theories is not called for here. For the present purpose
the following short summary will suffice:

"The difference between correct tone-production and any incorrect vocal
action is solely a matter of laryngeal adjustment and vocal cord action.
Whether the tone produced be right or wrong, the influence of the
resonance cavities is about the same. It is therefore idle to pay any
attention to the subject of air resonance. Only one form of resonance is
of any value in tone-production (considered as distinct from vowel
formation). This is the sounding-board resonance of the bones of the
head and chest. To secure this, the most important reinforcement of the
tone, the larynx must be firmly held in a fixed position against the
backbone, at the fifth cervical vertebra. All theories as to the
registers of the voice, derived from laryngoscopic observation, are
completely erroneous.

"In the production of tone, the muscular tissue of the vocal cords is
thrown into vibration by the air blast, and not merely the membranous
covering of the inner edges of the cords. For a soft tone, only a
portion of the fleshy mass of the vocal cords vibrates; if this tone is
gradually swelled to _fortissimo_, a constantly increasing portion of
the muscular tissue is called into play. For the loudest tone, the
entire mass of the vocal cords is bought into vibration. Thus the
increased volume of the tone results not alone from the increase in the
power of the breath blast. Each addition to the power of the expiration
demands also a change in the adjustment of the voc