finitely on "breathing lessons" is either "killing
time" or is not a proficient instructor of voice culture.

It should be taken for granted that all healthy persons breathe
properly.

It is not the breathing, but the power of control, which is of vital
importance. It may be that after taking "breathing lessons" for a period
of six months that you will still be far from able to control the breath
=on the tone=. It is the way you practice, rather than the length of time
which brings proficient results.

You will find by referring to the chapter on "Practical Exercises" that
I demonstrate the matter thoroughly.

A good tone should have =resonance=, or what we call "vibration," but not
"tremolo." Many young singers confuse these two. Undoubtedly it is just
as bad to sing with a straight, cold, unmusical tone as it is to produce
an exaggerated "vibrato" or "tremolo."

If you are unable to make the distinction between these two, do not fail
to consult someone who can do so, that you may not enter the pitfalls,
which it takes months to overcome.

You cannot realize =how little breath= is necessary =on the tone=; we sing
with a great amount of =pressure=, but with =very little breath=. Have you
ever taken a covered head tone without scarcely taking any breath, and
found that you could sustain it for a practically unlimited period?

I found one of my pupils who had elsewhere taken a course in =breathing=,
in taking a tone, would push her breath out so hard that you heard more
=breath= than =tone=. In singing a tone or short sentence, her chest would
collapse and she would become, as she termed it, "All out of breath."
She would give me all kinds of wonderful breath demonstrations, but
could not connect the =breath= and =tone=.

I requested her to speak in a natural way the sentence, "This is a very
beautiful day." I asked her if she could hear a lot of escaping breath?
She answered, "No." I then asked her to place one hand across the ribs
and one across the chest and center her thoughts directly at these two
points to see if she could ascertain what was taking place there, while
once again in a natural speaking voice she repeated the sentence. She
did so, and found she was =not= "out of breath," and that her chest did
=not= collapse and she did not feel any discomfort. I then asked her to
repeat the sentence on the medium tone "E" above middle "C," then on
"F," then on "G," directing her each time to think she was merel