PART TWO.
VOCAL GYMNASTICS.
You have no need to take any special exercise in walking for the ordinary purposes of life; but, if you wished to be a "walkist," you would need special practice to train and develop the muscles for that purpose. You may be a good singer, able to sing for your own amusement or that of your friends, without specially training the singing-voice; but, if you wished to sing in public, you would, if you were wise, train your singing-voice very carefully. As in these cases, so with the voice in speaking. For all ordinary purposes of speech, you need no special training of the speaking-voice; but when, as teacher, clergyman, lawyer, lecturer, actor, public reader, or in any other capacity, you are called upon to do more with the voice than others, you ought to train and develop your vocal powers. For this purpose, the following series of exercises are given for practice.
BREATHING.
As it is necessary that you should take in and give out more breath in speaking than at other times, you ought to be able to do this in a natural manner. If you will practise these breathing-exercises until they are easy for you, the breath in your reading or speaking will take care of itself. Practise breathing in the open air, and take in and give out the breath through the nose without making the slightest sound in so doing.
1. Abdominal Breathing.—Take standing position and active chest; place the fingers on the abdominal muscles, and the thumbs on the costal muscles; take a full breath, making the abdominal muscles start first, and move outward; then let the muscles sink in as the breath comes out. Make as much movement of these muscles as you can, both in and out; and be sure you keep the shoulders from moving. Pay particular attention to the movement of the abdominal muscles, letting all the rest (except the shoulders) move as may be easy to you. Practise this way of breathing until you can do it easily; and, if it makes you dizzy, do not be alarmed, but wait till the dizziness is entirely gone before you try again.
2. Costal Breathing.—Assume standing position with active chest; place the fingers on the costal muscles, and thumbs at the back; inhale a full breath, expanding as much as possible the costal muscles and ribs. In giving out the breath, make them sink in as much as possible. Keep shoulders still in breathing in and out, and let all other muscles be free to move as they may.
3. Dorsal Breathing.—Assume standing position with active chest; place the fingers at the back on dorsal muscles, and thumbs on the side; take a full breath, trying to expand the muscles under your fingers as much as you can. Rightly done, the abdominal and costal muscles, and the ribs, will also expand; the chest, if not already active, will rise; the shoulders will remain quiet. In giving out the breath, let the chest be the last to sink. This is the way of breathing in every healthy man, woman, and child. Any manner of dressing the body that hinders free and easy action of the abdominal, costal, and dorsal muscles, and the ribs, leads to ill health, because it interferes with the vital process of breathing; and ill health is fatal to success in any art.
4. Puffing the Breath.—Assume standing position, with active chest; take a full breath, and, rounding the lips as if you were about to say the word "who," blow the breath out as you would in blowing out a light; inhale again, and repeat the puffing.