In the case of girls, teaching may begin about the age of sixteen or seventeen, but not much earlier.
Chapter XII
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
TO what extent a vocal student should be instructed in matters anatomical and physiological is a question which has often been raised, and upon which the most contradictory views have been expressed. It is argued by some, that having in mind all the great singers of the past who flourished before the laryngoscope was thought of that the less the student knows about such things the better. It is contended that he will surely become self-conscious and unnatural by thinking about the physiological mechanism of processes which should be absolutely instinctive and automatic; and possibly in some instances this does occur.
I do not think, however, that if the instruction is properly given it need have any such effect, and I thoroughly believe, myself, in the student being given at least a general idea as to the construction of the vocal organs and the manner in which they function.
To precisely what extent the student should be instructed in what a famous singer once humorously referred to as “thoracic, crico-thyroideal, and epiglottic matters” may be a question for consideration, but as to the desirability of his being acquainted in a general way with the working of the vocal apparatus I have no sort of doubt.
The truth is that the whole business of singing, if reduced to its elements, is much simpler and easier to understand than is sometimes supposed, and there is not the slightest reason why any difficulty need be experienced in explaining the matter in its general outlines. I would go further, indeed, and say that he is not likely to prove a very intelligent pupil who is not sufficiently curious and interested to wish to know something upon the subject.
At the same time, it is, no doubt, perfectly true that many of the greatest singers of the past have been destitute of the slightest knowledge of such matters. In which connection one may recall the famous saying of Patti when interrogated as to her method: “Je n’en sais rien.” But it does not follow that others not possessed of her marvelous natural gifts should follow her example in this respect. For she did unconsciously and instinctively what in the case of most others only comes as the result of laborious study and practice.
One may recall, in this connection, the saying of that profound student of the art on the technical side, who was also in her day such a great executant, Lilli Lehmann, that it is not enough to sing well, one must be told also the how and why, and be given a firm foundation, if permanent results are to be hoped for. For otherwise one will
ROUGH SECTION OF NOSE, MOUTH, AND PHARYNX, SUGGESTING BY DOTTED LINES HOW THE TONE PASSES FROM THE LARYNX THROUGH THE MOUTH AND PASSAGES OF THE HEAD.