aking, and the first step in this
direction is obviously to ask ourselves, What is the meaning of the word
"Register?" My reply is this: _A register consists of a series of tones
which are produced by the same mechanism_. Then comes the question, Can
any such registers be demonstrated in the vocal apparatus; and if so,
what are the mechanisms by which they are produced? The answer supplied
by the laryngoscope is, Yes. There are, broadly speaking, three
registers in the human voice, and the mechanisms are plainly visible, as
follows:--(1) During the lowest series of tones the vocal ligaments
vibrate in their entire thickness (pl. XIV). (2) During the next series
of tones the vocal ligaments vibrate only with their thin inner edges
(pl. XV). (3) During the highest series of tones a portion of the vocal
chink is firmly closed, and only a small part of the vocal ligaments
vibrates (pl. XVI).

In accordance with these physiological facts, Mr. Curwen, in his
admirable book "The Teacher's Manual," calls the registers _the Thick_,
_the Thin_, and _the Small_. These names have a scientific basis, and
their meaning cannot be misunderstood. They are already familiar to
thousands who study music by Mr. Curwen's method, and I have myself made
use of them in my lectures at University College and at other places. I
shall, therefore, also adopt them in this little work, and hope they
will soon find general acceptance among teachers and learners, as
thereby a great many misunderstandings will be avoided.

* * * * *

Our next business will be to ascertain how these registers are divided
among various voices, and the result as revealed by the laryngoscope is
rather startling. It consists in this, that the break between the Thick
and Thin occurs _in both sexes_ at about [Illustration: musical
notation] In order to realize the full meaning of this, the reader must
bear in mind that music for tenors is generally written an octave higher
than it is sung, so that the tones we are now speaking about would, as a
rule, in a tenor part be expressed by [Illustration: musical notation].
My assertion, therefore, amounts to this, that everything below
[Illustration: musical notation] whether sung by soprano, contralto,
tenor, or bass, is produced by one mechanism--that is to say, by the
vocal ligaments vibrating in their entire thickness; and that the series
of tones above [Illustration: musical notation] whether sung