ARTICULATION
The quality of artistic beauty in articulation is very important, beyond the mere accuracy which is ordinarily thought of. There are five general heads under which the characteristics to be sought may be grouped.
First, Accuracy of Form. This not with severity, but with perfection coming from sensitive response of the articulating organs to the form concept as held in the mind. One should avoid the practice of exertion in the execution of articulated forms.
Second, Tone Quality, secured by the right relation of the tone form to the line of resonance, is very important and may be attained by careful attention to musical beauty and a sense of harmony. This is the right placing of tones.
Third, Proportion must be carefully considered. Very often unaccented syllables are made unduly prominent and unimportant words are over-emphasized through lack of attention to this principle. The careful appreciation of rhythm, or the movement of syllables in enunciation, gives a flowing, easy, well-proportioned clearness that is indispensable to beauty. This should be practised in connection with the interpretation of melodious, flowing passages, which will furnish opportunity for the appreciation of the relation between the accented and unaccented syllables and the important and unimportant words. Such material as Bryant's "Thanatopsis" is good.
Fourth, Phrasing. The careful observation of the three foregoing aspects of articulation leads at once to the fourth; namely, the expressive value of words in direct relation to the interpretation itself. This is closely connected with phrasing, and the phrase, which is the larger "thought word," should be studied as the communicating link between the articulation of the part and interpretation as it relates to literature itself. In connection with this comes the consideration of slides and the finer modulations of tone-color, movement, and cadence. But the study of word values, in the light of the whole phrase to be interpreted, will make each word a living thing in its influence—a winged messenger of the thought.
Fifth, Slides. The slide has already been referred to as the unit of vocalization in speech as distinct from the province of song, the unit of song being the scale of notes as sung in succession, but with distinct individuality. Few who have not studied the matter carefully appreciate the fact that the speaking voice suggestively covers as wide a range as the singing voice ordinarily does. But it is essential that the even development of range from high to low pitch should enable the student to glide without break from one extreme of pitch to another. Inflection is often inferred by the mind of the listener when the person speaking abruptly drops from high to low pitch without rendering the intervening sound. The absence of the fulfilment of inflection robs the speech of much of its musical quality and much of its appeal to the feelings; for inflection is the musical expression of the thought, and depends upon feeling. The expression of this relationship of intelligence and emotion is a subtle and powerful appeal,—the realization of true culture,—combining thought and feeling. We know what a man means literally by the abrupt or emphatic changes of the pitch or pressure; but we know what the fact means to his feelings by the slides and cadences. It is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of that characterization which awakens a keen sense of the musical meaning as corresponding to the thought. This perception brings music into the speech and, if it be awakened to the extent of a real love for the music itself, develops a smooth and quiet clearness in the communication of thought and feeling which is the greatest charm of conversation and of descriptive and narrative utterance.