Expressive Voice Culture, Including the Emerson System

CONTENTS

The Emerson System treats the voice as a natural reporter of the individual, constantly emphasizing the tendency of the voice to express appropriately any mental concept or state of feeling.
This treatise is a setting forth of methods and principles based upon this idea with a fuller elaboration of the relation of technique to expression. No attempt is here made, however, to present more than an individual contribution to this broad subject.


The first essential to one beginning the study of voice culture is an appreciation of the real significance of voice development. We must recognize at once the fact that the voice is a natural reporter of the conditions, emotions, thoughts, and purposes (character and states or conditions) of the individual. The ring of true culture in the voice is that perfect modulation of tone and movement which, without self-consciousness, communicates exactly the meaning and purpose which impel the utterances of the speaker.
It is almost impossible for any person to cultivate vocal expression to the best advantage without an intelligent and sympathetic teacher; he lacks the perspective upon himself which is necessary in order to correct his individual faults and draw out his most effective powers. Then, again, he needs that personal supervision and direction of his efforts which will allow his mind to be constantly occupied with thoughts and principles, and relieve him of all temptation to watch his own performances as such. But it is necessary that the student should have a simple and logical basis for practice, however great may become the variety of its application.
That the voice is naturally expressive is shown in the fact that even where there is no possible suggestion of cultivation we instinctively read the broad outlines of meaning and feeling in the tones and inflections of the voice. May it not therefore be possible that a finer culture will reveal all the subtle shades of thought and feeling, and a more discriminating judgment be able to detect these, just as the ethnologist will reconstruct from some crude relic the history of an earlier civilization?