use most men and women are unnatural
or have taken on habits that are unnatural.

Taking in the breath, the function of inspiration, results in a
readjustment of certain organs which become disadjusted by the act of
expiration or outbreathing. In general it may be said that the singer
should breathe with the least possible disadjustment, so that only the
least possible readjustment will be needed and the effort of breathing
be minimized. Nature herself is economical, and the singer should
economize the resources of breath. To breathe easily and without a waste
of energy is essential to the best art, and gives a feeling to the
listener that the singer, whose work he has enjoyed, has even more in
reserve than he has given out. That sense of reserve force is one of
the greatest triumphs of art. It is largely the result of effortless
breathing, in which it is not necessary or even desirable that the
singer always should strive to fill the lungs to the utmost, since that
induces an obvious effort which diminishes the listener's enjoyment.
Moreover, effort goes against the economy of nature. By keeping this in
mind and by the use of correct methods, the singer will be able, in
time, to gauge the amount of breath he requires for the tone he is about
to produce or the phrase he is about to deliver, and the natural demand
of the lungs will become his guide.

It is essential to correct breathing that the organs of the tract
through which the breath passes in and out should at least be known.
They include the mouth, nose, larynx, trachea (or windpipe), the
bronchial tubes and the lungs. A narrow slit in the larynx, called the
glottis, and where the vocal cords are located, leads into the windpipe,
a pliable tube composed of a series of rings of gristly or cartilaginous
substance. The bronchial tubes are tree-like branches of the windpipe,
and extend to the lungs, which are extremely elastic and, upon being
filled with air, become inflated and expand somewhat like a balloon.
It is necessary that in taking in breath and expelling it, this natural
apparatus should be under the singer's control and that no undue force
should be exerted upon the whole or upon any part of it, since this
would result in its physical impairment and a corresponding impairment
in production and quality of voice. It cannot be emphasized too often
that the scientific method of voice-production based on the study of
the physiology of the vocal tract is not a