ged against our public speaking.

Another of the worst faults of singing, the _tremolo_, is due to
unsteadiness in attack and in maintaining the proper relations between
the breathing and the laryngeal mechanism. If the voice-user fails to
get a tone of good quality easily and without escape of breath to any
appreciable extent, he must consider that his method is incorrect.
There must be no wasted breath in the best vocal technique. This leads
to ineffectiveness in the voice-producer and lack of satisfaction in
the listener. Breath must, for a perfect technique, mean tone--all
tone--and this must be produced so that the singer is not aware, by
any unpleasant feelings, that he has vocal bands or a larynx at all;
in a perfect technique one must only be distinctly aware of certain
sensations in the parts above the larynx, in his mouth cavity, etc.
His consciousness is concerned with tone--the result. But, to attain
this, the method must be physiological--_i.e._, natural, and not only
that, but carried out with an approach to perfection in the details of
the process which takes time and calls for infinite patience and care,
all permeated by sound and clear ideas of what is being aimed at by
the voice-user. Nothing should be attempted till the method and the
end are understood thoroughly; to do otherwise is to waste time,
defeat the purpose, and court failure and disappointment; and the more
the student can think for himself, and the less dependent he is on his
teacher, the better will it be for both and for art itself.

From all that has been hitherto said it will be inferred that one of
the best tests of a good attack, or any other feature in
voice-production, is the absence of escape of breath, as such, from
the mouth. Many persons begin wrongly; they attempt to produce tones
by forcing the breath out in such a way that all their resources in
breathing are at once spent, instead of being husbanded with the care
of a miser. As time is the most precious possession of man, as man, so
is breath for the singer or speaker. It is his hoard. Nothing must be
paid out of this always limited capital for which the best value is
not obtained.

The test for perfect economy of breath known to older generations of
actors still remains the best. They were accustomed to hold a candle a
few inches from the mouth when speaking. If the flame did not flicker,
it was clear that breath was not being uselessly expelled.

Instead of feeling th