Chapter 2
CHAPTER II. The vocal organs and their movements in uttering sounds and vocalization. The human voice has a power, influence, scope and reach little known. Possessed by all mankind, with very few exceptions, its faculty and physiological structure are misinterpreted. From the time of Galen to that of Dodard and Feren in the 18th century,
scientists have compared the organ of the voice to a flute, and with that definition science remained perfectly content. The voice is the product of the actions of a complex system of the most delicate tone-generating vocal cords, acted upon by the lungs through its feeding pipes, conveying the breath to the cavities formed in the mouth by the different and varying actions of the glottis, the tongue, and the lips. There have been comparisons made between the mechanism
of the voice and the aeolian harp, or the reed of the oboe, but the most perfect musical invention ever made falls immeasurably short in capacity when compared with that of the human organism. Every vocal articulation made in tones or noises requires the corresponding adjustment of the respective organs whose function it is to contribute to the enunciation of sound. This wonderful activity is seen in the facial muscles, in the movement of the lower jaw,
of the lips, and even in the participating expression of the eyes. Strange as it may seem, every normal human being, that is, every human being born without physical defect, is naturally formed to emit or utter all the sounds made by any other being, no matter what may be the language of his country. It is due to the associations surrounding the individual that he acquires only the habit or use of a limited number of articulations or expressions
and knows nothing of any other. It is only recently that science, by the means of a newly discovered instrument called the laryngoscope, which acts as a mirror in showing the action and vibrating changes of the vocal organs, has been enabled to define the natural laws on which all sounds of the human voice depend, and these are found to be the same in both sexes in all mankind. It has been ascertained that speech is the result of the combined workings of two very
different sections of our vocal organs. The effect can be observed in the difference between noise and tone. In whisperings there is only a muffled vibration of the air in the cavity of the mouth, occasioned by the action of the tongue and lips, but when the cords in the larynx are excited by the breath, then come tone and voice. The speaking is thus changed from a whisper to loud talking. And as with whispering, so with whistling, the vocal cords have no play.
In the vital function of the lungs there are two modes of respiration, in one of which, by a continued emission of breath, is noted a slight noise, as in ordinary breathing or sighing. But when the vocal cords impede the passage, there is a jarring noise, as in snoring or groaning. The other mode is when the breath is ejected by repeated jets, as in laughter, crying and sobbing, and in speaking or singing, in all of which there is more or less vocalization.
When it is considered that the action of the respiratory and vocal organs are for the most part involuntary, it is not surprising that their neglect entails a multitude of evils, which the many are either unconscious of or do not notice. Continued speech or continued reading is to many a most fatiguing ordeal. That which ought to be a pleasure is an insufferable strain
through the want of a knowledge of the nature of the voice and of the natural law which governs the act of inspiration. With easy and regular inspiration or breathing, a moderate expenditure of breath is sufficient for the various vocal and syllabic sounds, as in conversation or even in singing. The voice should never be strained,
and whenever there is discomfort in vocalization, the effort should be stayed for a while, for it is only by practice that sounds of a high grade can be perfectly made. This is of essential importance to all who desire to conserve the voice, whether for the purpose of speaking, singing or ventriloquizing. To disregard this consideration is to render a certain failure in all attempts at perfection in these arts,
for it is to be borne in mind that all these are various modes of vocalization. Regarding the conservation of the voice, it is obvious that everything depends upon a healthy and normal state of the vocal organs, both as regards the vital functions of respiration and inspiration, and as regards the membranous fibers and cartilages of the throat also. Swollen tonsils arising from cold will entirely prejudice and hinder the proper action of the lungs and the sensitive vocal instruments,
and thereby affect the general health. We have all read that man had breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The lips and mouth are not the true organs of inspiration or breathing. It is a prostitution of their functions to delegate to them the duties of another, that organ which nature has wisely appointed.
The neglect of this obvious fact lays exposed by the delicately formed mouth, the exquisitely sensitive membranes and filaments of the throat, and the still more delicate lungs, to the keen, penetrating atmosphere, thick and miasmatic if hot and equally dangerous if freezingly cold. Children ought to be taught these physiological truths in their early days. The firmly compressed lips, there is no doubt,
influence the character and have much to do with that self-possession and stamp of decision which are in fact the characteristics of an expressive countenance. The more these facts are generally known, the fewer will be the wheezy, husky voices everywhere heard. A pamphlet by Catlin entitled Shut Your Mouth treats this subject in an exhaustive and convincing manner and should be read by everyone who desires to preserve in a healthy state the vocal and respiratory organs.
All the varieties of which the human voice is capable in the vocalization of sounds come under the following general category. 1. Quality, such as rough, smooth, harsh, guttural, deep, full, shrill, thin, or musical. 2. Force, strong, weak, feeble, loud, or faint. 3. Time, long, short, quick, rapid, or slow. 4. Abruptness, Sudden and full discharge of sound
Explosive 5. Pitch High or low Rise or fall According to Dr. James Rush of Philadelphia, the purest and most plastic sounds in the English language are heard in the usual sounds of the initial letters in the following words, 12 in number.
and are produced by the joint functions of the larynx and the adaptable conformation of the mouth and lips. In ventriloquism, however, all the outward manifestations have to be carefully avoided. All these elementary sounds can be uttered with more force and emphasis than any other. He calls these various sounds of the vowels tonic sounds.
The next category consists of a number of sounds having properties similar to those of the vowels or tonics, but different in degree. Such are the consonants in the following words, fourteen and number. bow, dare, give, vile, zone, ye, woe, then, azure, sing, love, may, not, row. From their inferiority to the tonics he calls them subtonics. These have all the vocality, but in some there is combined an aspiration.
Their vocality is modified by the action of the lips, teeth, tongue and nose. The remaining sounds, nine in number, are aspirations which have no vocality. They are found produced by a current of the whispering breath, as heard in the following words. up, out, arc, if, yes, he, wheat, thin, push. These he calls atonics.
These make up the number of elemental sounds to 35. The utterances of m, n and ng are purely nasal. If their vocality were dropped, any attempt to utter them would be mere snuffling. The liquid expression of L is often marred by a deformity of utterance, generally caused by a fullness of the tongue or of too much moisture thereon.
The subtonic R is often blurred by an imperfect rattling of the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth. The guttural R is occasioned by the vibration of the uvula at the back of the mouth. No pure tones can be given without a careful and full resonance of these so-called tonics and subtonics. It is upon the basis of these elementary sounds that the art of phonography, or shorthand writing, is instituted, by giving a sign to each of these sounds. The natural voice is that used in ordinary speaking and has a range from the lowest sound to that point where it is said to break.
At this point, the natural voice gives place to the falsetto, a peculiar sharp shrillness of tone in which may be included a cry, a scream or a yell. The falsetto is incapable of uttering the atonics. The highest character of the speaking voice is, however, the orotund, so called by Dr. Rush, to designate that full resounding musical tone in expressing any of the elementary sounds,
and which he considers the only proper voice to use, the one that is cultivated and not vitiated by the growth of natural defects, as is the case with nearly all neglected or uncultivated natural voices. The orotant voice can only be acquired by careful practice in correctly intonating all the tonic and subtonic sounds,
which gains for the voice an elasticity, strength, depth and clearness of resonance, agreeably surprising to anyone who may not have given any previous attention thereto. The result is a ringing and musical quality, quite delightful to hear and listen to, but rarely heard except from an occasional orator or actor on the stage. By degrees there is acquired in this practice a beautifully distinct pronunciation,
a depth of power and intonation, which, it must be noted, are highly essential in vocalizing ventriloquially. This full, deep-chested voice is not fatiguing, for it requires no undue exertion. The lower tones or sounds do not require so many vibrations of the vocal cords as the upper notes, and hence do not waste or exhaust the breathing powers.
For if the lungs be naturally filled with air, every note or sound, especially on the lower scale, can be made with ease and regularity, with its due proportion of breath necessary for so doing. But any attempt to raise the voice beyond its just natural pitch
and persist in its maintenance will be as needlessly fatiguing and will create as speedy an exhaustion as when, instead of walking, one were to run always at full speed. Thus the inference is plain that nature permits only a just and moderate use of its powers, the penalty for the infringement being loss of strength and exhaustion.
These cautions are especially necessary to all who intend practicing ventriloquism. He who possesses a voice of this orotant character can better encounter the additional strain on the vocal organs necessitated by directing their functions to a new and strange exercise, which, however, will become more and more easy with moderate and regular practice. A ventriloquial voice, of whatever character it may be, requires a retention of the inspired air in the lungs, which calls for some additional support for the abdominal muscles, the diaphragm of the stomach and the muscles of the chest. The cavity in the mouth is enlarged, as well as that in the glottis,
and the passage of the air checked by the retraction of the tongue, which muffles the sound of the vocal cords and causes the voice to sound as from a distance. Thus, new conformations are made in the mouth by the varying positions of the tongue and by drawing the lips down on one side or the other, which materially changes the sounds of the voice.
For through being so muffled, they are originated from a greater depth in the larynx and ventricles and thereby acquire those characteristics which are called ventriloquil. Now, it has been ascertained by repeated ocular examinations with the laryngoscope previously mentioned and only recently discovered that only the lower vocal cords serve directly for the generations of sound. That the vibration of these cords in the production of sound from the ventricles is an established fact
from the evidence of personal consciousness of the tremor in the chest when they are in action, it is also confirmed from the following observations. Each of the parallel pairs of cords forms between the edges a slit running anteroposteriorally, called the glottis. The lower or true vocal cords approach in vocalization to close contact, while the upper cords scarcely move and leave a wide elliptical opening between them.
As the upper cords have their points of attachment posteriorly and higher, they form with the two lower cords two lateral cavities, the ventricles. The two pairs of cords are the free interior edges of the membrane lining the whole larynx and extending into it to the right and left. More or less stretched and presenting resistance to the air forcibly expelled from the lungs through the trachea,
they are thus made to vibrate. The upper or false vocal cords do not cooperate with them to generate tone, but like all the remaining parts of the mouth and throat, belong to the resonance apparatus of the voice, to which also appertains the back part of the mouth, the pharynx,
above the esophagus, that is, the throat or gullet. This is separated from the anterior cavity of the mouth by the soft palate, the form and place of which, in the mouth, everyone knows. When a normal voice utters its lowest tones upon the vowel A, this being the vowel sound most favorable for observation,
the following may be observed in the mirror. The erytenoid cartilages with great rapidity raise their points, the cartilages of Santorini, in their mucous membranous covering and close firmly together. In like manner, the vocal cords approach each other until their edges touch through their entire length. The upper or false vocal cords likewise approach each other, leaving, however, a space between them.
When the scale is slowly sung upward legato, step by step, the above described movement of the cartilages and the vocal cords is repeated with every new tone, partly separating and partly closing again. The vocal cords, in the production of the lowest tones of the voice, are moved through their whole length and breadth by large loose vibrations, which are communicated to the
other parts of the interior of the larynx. With every higher tone the glottis is somewhat shortened and the vocal cords are more and more stretched. The raising of the pitch is thus effected by the greater stretching and shortening to a certain point. To those who may not have given any attention to this study, it is almost inconceivable to realize the wonderful and unique organism of the human voice. And this seems nonetheless
strange when it is considered that every one of us possesses it, with more or less its scope and powers, its fullness, melody and reach. It is the careful training of this delicately formed organism which gives to speakers, singers and ventriloquists all their several fine tones and modulations, in fact, all their characteristic effects. To the speakers and singers who so often complain of fatigue, the suggestion is very apposite, as each may have reason enough to corroborate.
They have been straining after effect. Most ventriloquists have acknowledged that they have often experienced fatigue in the chest, which they have attributed to the slow respiration of the breath in exorcitation, although probably it is due to persisting in a high-pitched voice, when a middle voice would serve well enough as a contrast to the ordinary one. For perfecting the vocal powers it is necessary, therefore, to allow the voice to habituate its
tones to the orotant basis, or timbre as it is called, and then it will be better adapted to the development of even more difficult and astonishing powers than it would otherwise be capable of. For none of these qualities can be attained by either occasional or constant forcing or straining, but by moderate and regular efforts success is certain. Temperament has a great influence on the tone of the voice. A hasty temper finds vent in high-pitched tones,
which by degrees breaks the natural pitch of the voice into a falsetto, which becomes habitual. Such shrill voices are always painful to the ear, either in singing or speaking, especially with women and boys. The vixen always betrays her temperament the instant her mouth is opened, in the efforts she makes to speak loud and reach her top note. Were the shrew to know how she does labors to increase the vibrations of her vocal cords,
when one tithe of the effort is sufficient for the natural low colloquial tone, she might direct her temper to a better and wiser purpose. The vocal organs of every man, woman and child act and react, contract and expand according to the rise and fall of the voice in the same way. And yet, although all have faces and voices similar, there are no two alike.
The inner nature stamps its impress on both, which may often enough be observed unmistakably. Like the expression of the features, the tone of the voice is a reflection of the character, and men are judged favorably or unfavorably according to such impressions as these may make on others. A keen insight into these characteristics of human nature is of no little advantage to the ventriloquist who has to seize upon and mimic the eccentricities of voice and manner. End of chapter 2
