of technique in
any art demands.

So in the teaching of Vocal Expression, he who _begins_ with rules for
the use of this change of pitch or that inflection, this pause or that
color of tone, before he has aroused in the pupil the desire to express
a vivid thought, and so made him conscious of the need to command subtle
changes of pitch, swift contrasts in tone and turns of inflection, will
find himself responsible for mechanical results sadly divorced from true
and natural speech. But let the teacher of expression begin, not with
rules of technique, but with the material for inspiration and
interpretation; let him rouse in the pupil the impulse to express and
then furnish the material and means for study which shall enrich the
vocabulary of expression and he will find the instruments of the
art--voice and speech--growing into the free and efficient agents of
personality they are intended by nature to be.

* * * * *

In March, 1906, the editor of _Harper's Bazar_ began a crusade in the
interest of the American voice and speech. Through the issues of more
than a year the magazine published arraignment, admonition, and advice
on this subject. It was the privilege of the author of this volume to
contribute the last four articles in that series. In response to a
definite demand from the readers of the Bazar these articles were later
embodied in a little book called _The Speaking Voice_. In a preface to
this book the author confesses her "deliberate effort to simplify and
condense the principles fundamental to all recognized systems of vocal
instruction," making them available for those too occupied to enter upon
the more exhaustive study set forth in more elaborate treatises. The
book was not intended for hours of class-room work in schools or
colleges, but for the spare moments of a business or social life, and
its reception in that world was gratifying. But, to the author's
delight, the interest aroused created a demand in the schools and
colleges for a real text-book, a book which could be put into the hands
of students in the departments of English and expression in public and
private institutions and colleges, and especially in normal schools. It
is in response to that appeal that this class-book in _Vocal
Expression_ is issued; and it is to the teachers whose impelling
interest and enthusiasm in the subject justify the publication of this
volume that the author desires first to express