s. A good
teacher will even up the =medium= register, teach her how to use the
=breath on the tone=, how to =place= the tone, overcoming all seeming change
from chest to head, will give her perfect pronunciation and enunciation.
This can be done at any age from eleven years, depending on the
individual. A girl who has good ear, and who does not lead the singing
in school at eleven and sing at entertainments, can begin at sixteen or
seventeen and develop into a very fine singer.

"Should my son take up voice culture before his voice has changed?"

This case is just the same as with the girl, =if he sings=. In fact, I
have found in my twenty years' experience as singer and teacher that the
boy who studies voice culture before his voice changes has an easy road
to travel =after= his voice has changed. Many boys' voices have not
finished changing until they are eighteen or nineteen years of age. The
boy who studied before his voice began changing understands the breath
control, the placing of the tone, and the pronunciation and enunciation.
These four fundamentals are absolutely necessary in order to sing well;
and whether his voice, after the change, develops into tenor or bass,
these fundamentals remain the same, and enable him to continue, instead
of merely begin. The boy, who has studied, or is under a good
instructor, will know =when= to stop singing. I have known many boys with
promising voices, who have ruined them entirely by singing or trying to
sing =during= the change. But they were not boys who were under
instruction, or they would have known better. I do =not= claim that it is
necessary to begin the study of voice culture as a child, as this is
entirely a matter of the individual, but I =do= claim that you can count
on one hand the singers who have reached distinction and whose voices
have lasted any length of time, who started their singing lessons after
they were out of their teens.

I have pupils who are making a good living as church soloists and on the
concert stage, who commenced their study after they were twenty years
old, but they are the =exception=, and not the =rule=.

I think a woman has the greatest success in teaching children. This may
be partly due to her maternal instincts. Her illustrations and
demonstrations are more simple than a man's. Her patience with children
also fits her wonderfully well to teach the child.

You can accomplish nothing with the voice through fear. If the young boy