Voice and Song.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 47, 17 February 1894, Page 6

Voice and Song.

By G. BARNES

of singing, Esk st., Invercargill.)

[all rights reserved.]

THE MECHANISM of thk VOICE

(Continued.)

The next authority, in our order of succession; is Professor Bicheraud, whose opinion is a concrete of all the foregoing theories : for he maintains that the larynx is, at the same time, both a string and a wind instrument. BThe profound Buffon, and the learned Cuvier, rank the vocal organ in the class of flutes and regard the glottis as the reed of the instrument, the mouth as the body, and the nostrils as the lateral holes.

The illustrious Mngendie has given to the larynx the name of “ human reed,” and thinks that this, organ should be compared to our reed instruments, such as the haut-bry, the bassoon, etc.

Savard, who has published some remark•'sble works upon the formation of the voice, likens the larynx to a kind of whistle, a short instrument, pierced at each end by a small •orifice, and used by huntsmen to imitate the cry of birds. He, consequently, infers that the ligaments of the glottis, and the ventricles that open between them, take an essential part in the primitive formation of the vocal sounds. The air, traversing the gkttis, strikes upon the superior ligaments ; these bind the superior opening of the instrument, and discharge the same function as the stopper that apportions the wind in an organpipe. Then the air contained in the larynx vibrates, and gives out a sound, which increases in intensity, because the sonorous waves that form it are prolonged into the pharynx, the cavity of the mouth and nasal fossa. It is evident that the author of this system seeks to account for the use of the ventricles of the larynx, and for those of the superior ligaments, of which no mention is made in other theories.

The deductions of Savard, although well recognised by his admirers, were reluted by Colombat de LiTsere, who, in his numerous autopsies, which he made for the study of the larynx, sometimes found the organ destitute ■if ventricles and of superior ligaments in individuals, among w p hom were several who, in life, had a fine vocal timbre. He says in his great work on Orthopony: “ One fact which, I think, goes to prove that the superior ligaments and the ventricles do not play so important a part as that assigned them by M. Savard, is, that if they are divided in a dog, or merely cauterized to prevent their action, the voice of the animal is not altered •or destroyed, unless the incision or cauterization be prolonged downwards, past the interior ligaments that” [he adds] “form the frue glottis,” and according to him are “ the efficient cause of the voice.” Let us bring ♦hie reasoning of Colombat de LTsere to the test of the reductio ad ahsurdum process. If I cut your throat a little bit, it does not destroy life; hence throal-cutting does not destroy life, unless the throats are sufficiently cut. So also, do I prove that the sheepskin of a drum is not the efficient cause of its sound : for if I make a small incision in the head of a drum, it does not destroy its sound, unless the incision be prolonged. But suppose the incision be prolonged—what then ? Why, the cause being destroyed, its legitimate effect ceases. Precisely analagous to this is the case in hand. The animalization of the laryngeal lining tissue being destroyed by the knife or cautery, which animalization is derived from arterial vessels, veins, lymphatics and nerves, no voice can exist. Is it too much to say therefore of LTserc’s argument, that, while it disproves Savard’a theory it completely demolishes its own ? Other theories might be added to those of the foregoing; but, inasmuch as they are all, more or less, modifications of the same general idea, the citing of them would unnecessarily -consume both time and patience. Enough, I think, have been advanced for our present purpose, which is to compare my own postulates, or premises, on this subject, with those •of the commonly received authorities. It will be perceived | that present methods for the formation and health of the voice are radically founded in what I trust I have convinced you is a mistaken idea, viz., that the voice answers to the construction, and, consequently, to the laws, of certain musical instruments, between which we have seen there is but very slight analogy. How, I shall presume to maintain, on the contrary, that the larynx resembles nothing but a larynx ; and that the living mechanism of the voice cannot be treated of as an inanimate structure because it is endowed with the incommunicable principle of vital action, and is, in all respects answerable to the laws of vital growth and ■expansion. This prepares me to state, succinctly and inintelligibly, the grand result of my own rej searches in this important field of investigation. It is, briefly, this, viz.:— that the mucous membrane, or skin, which covers the inner surface of the bronchial tubes the ; windpipe , the larynx, the pharanx, the buccal and nasal cavities —is the Phonator, or seat of phonation. In . other words, the air, driven out from the lungs, under the influence of the will causes, by its more or less rapid passage, the mucous membranec to phonate—give out voice —in accordance with its healthJful contraction or expansion. Meanwhile the vno rements of the larynx, and the shortening

and the lengthening of the vocal tunnel, by diminishing, ot increasing the phonetic surface, produce acute or grave sounds, as the designs of the individual may require; precisely on the same principle that a small drum-head produces an acute sound, while a greater expansion of sheepskin gives forth a deeper or graver tone. Allow me to give auricular evidence of the truth of this theory, by arresting the physiological contraction of the mucous membrane, during the production of acute or graver sounds. You will perceive that the varied intonations whisperal are produced simply by enlarging or contracting the size of the glottis, which is brought about by a certain minute lengthening or shortening of the vocal cords, or properly speaking, the thryo-arytenoid ligaments. To illustrate this vocal phenomenon —■ anyone can do so by positioning the lips favourably to the production of a whisperal whistle —the students can ascend the scale of whisperal intonations just as high as the close approximation of the lips will allow—the orifice resembling the glottis, and the thin edges of the lips answering ta the vocal cords, so called ; in other words, the lower we desire to go, the wider must be the orifice between the lips, and the higher, or more acute, the sound, the smaller must be the glottis, or orifice, or hole, through which the breath has to traverse. Yet, these sphincter sounds are limited, and do not embrace more than one-half the entire compass, or registers, of. the vocal instrument when confined to the exclusive functioning of the laryngeal mechanism. In aonclusion, and bv way of a resume, permit me to say that my aim has been : 1. To sbow r , by genex - al anatomical demonstration, that the mechanism of the human voice exceeds the limits heretofore properly assigned to it. 2. That, hence, the theories on which the modern modes of vocal development depend, not being founded on truth, are philosophically and essentially defective. In maintaining the first of these two propositions, I have sought to prove, by a variety of illustrations, my new theory, viz.: that, for the proper development of the lungs, the attention must be (directed principally to a suitable exercise of the diaphragm; that the commonly-received opinion, that a large chest necessarily implies large lungs, is a fallacy. I have shown that the development of the chest depends chiefly upon the exercise of the external muscles; while the development of the lungs, as I have just asserted, is effected mainly by the intelligent use of the diaphragm, elevating the thoracic viscera, or organs of the chest, and depressing the abdominal, in order that space may be afforded for its own free operation.

The importance of the proper education of the diaphragm will be apparent when I assert, what has never, to my knowledge, been before advanced, that it is to the proper control of the diaphragm that we are indebted for all those dynamic effects ®f light and shade that are so impressive in the voice of accomplished orators and vocalists.

I have, in the progress of my argument, held up to view the deductions of eminent theorists regarding the efficient cause of vocal sound, in order that you may better appreciate the value of my own theory : that it is not the larynx, nor yet the glottis. The anatomical conformation of the larynx simply gives, at its superior portion, under the guidance of the will, a series, a succession, a limited number of different - sized openings, apertures, glottises, so called, favourably to the production of acute or grave laryngeal sounds, which graduation constitutes barely one-third the compass of the entire vocal scale in the majority of educated voices. A most indubitable proof of this assertion is, that with persons endowed with high, or acute, voices, when the larynx is invaded by disease, so as to produce complete aphony, or loss of the laryngeal register, the glottii of the pharanx comes into play, entirely independent of the movements of the larynx, and another voice will come out, possessing another quality, soft, rich, mellow, and capable, in many cases, of reaching high E in alt —some twenty-six semi-tonic sounds higher than the would-be-made bombastic uplifter of vocal-phonos (the larynx) could possibly attain or acquire.

In view of my arguments, it is easy to determine why such varied diseases of the vocal organs abound among us at the present day; the fatal fruits ef degenerate seed. Is it the will of God ? Nay, was it His design, when He planned the vocal mechanism, that it should shrivel to insufficiency when employed in ministrations at His altars, while it justifies His wisdom in the cry of the chimney sweep ? The system of physical development which I have framed upon the basis of my discoveries has, in every instance where no irremediable obstruction existed, proved curiously efficient, accomplishing the desired end within one-third of the time usually devoted to the formation of the voice, and without fatigue of theorgans. It has been subjected to numerous experiments and has ever been found capable of producing full vocal development without the employment of vocal sound on the part of the student. It directly promotes the general health, in consequence of the right exercise that it demands of certain vital organs that I have proved to be intimately connected with the vocal mechanism. Moreover it is susceptible of enlarging, modifying’ and improving the voice up to extreme old hge ; giving volume and firmness of tone at a period to which, it is generally supposed, Nature denies those desirable qualities.