of London throat brushes! If
such badly educated voices can no longer produce a _piano_, it is owing
to the unskilfulness of nature, and to the false construction of the
necessary organs! If the _piano_ is only a wheeze, the reason is found
in the deficiency of palate, and excess of muscles! If several times in
the month, the worn out, weary voice can only groan and sigh, or cannot
emit a sound, it is the result of a change in the weather, or other
meteorological conditions! If we complain of unpleasant, shrieking
tones, occasioned by the mouth being too widely stretched, then "the
rays of sound take an oblique, instead of a direct course"! If the poor,
strained medium voice, even with the help of a great deal of breath, can
only produce dull, hollow, veiled, and unpleasant tones, that is said to
be a necessary crisis, of which cruel Nature requires a great many in
the course of her development of the voice! Finally, if from long and
forced holding of the chest-tones, they are changed into noises like the
bellowing of calves and the quacking of ducks, and the instructor
finally perceives it, then again we have a crisis! And, alas! no one
thinks of "the three trifles."

* * * * *

What occasions the want of success of our singing-teachers, many of whom
are musical, possess a delicate ear, fine culture and feeling, have
studied systems of singing, and exert themselves zealously to teach
rightly?

They fail in the culture of the tone, which is not to be learned from
books or by one's self, but only from verbal communication. To learn to
produce a clear tone, with a light, free, natural attack; to understand
how to draw forth the sound with the use of no unnecessary breath, and
to cause the sound to strike against the roof of the mouth above the
upper row of teeth; to improve the pronunciation; to adjust the
registers,--these, with many other things, may seem very easy; but to
teach them all in the shortest time, without wearing out the voice and
without falling into errors; to persevere in teaching to the end, even
if the pupil already sings correctly; to know what is still wanting and
how it is to be attained,--all these one must acquire by long and
constant experience.

When Schroeder-Devrient came from Vienna to Dresden, a young but already
celebrated singer, though at that time wanting in the proper foundation
for singing, she was not a little surprised when Miksch called her
attent