Oh, thereissomethinginthatvoicethatreachesTheinnermostrecessesofmyspirit!

—LONGFELLOW, Christus.

, , correctly-usedvoiceisthegreatestphysicalfactorofpersuasivenessandpower, oftenover-toppingtheeffectsofreason.

Butagoodvoice, wellhandled, isnotonlyaneffectivepossessionfortheprofessionalspeaker, itisamarkofpersonalcultureaswell, , himselfthepossessorofadeep, musicalvoice, hassaid: "Ninetymenineveryhundredinthecrowdedprofessionswillprobablyneverriseabovemediocritybecausethetrainingofthevoiceisentirelyneglectedandconsideredofnoimportance." Thesearewordsworthpondering.

Therearethreefundamentalrequisitesforagoodvoice:

SignorBoncioftheMetropolitanOperaCompanysaysthatthesecretofgoodvoiceisrelaxation; andthisistrue, , andflameout "Ihateyou!" Nowrelaxasyoudowhenthinkinggentle, tenderthoughts, andsay, "Iloveyou." Howdifferentthevoicesounds.

Inpractisingvoiceexercises, andinspeaking, , 'tmakeyourvoicego—'.

Yourthroatshouldbefreefromstrainduringspeech, , henceanyunnaturalconstrictionwillnotonlyharmitstonesbutinjureitshealth.

Nervousnessandmentalstrainarecommonsourcesofmouthandthroatconstriction, somakethebattleforpoiseandself-confidenceforwhichwepleadedintheopeningchapter.

ButhowcanIrelax? —, —simplyrelaxyourneckandletgravitypullitaroundasyourbodymoves.

Again, letyourheadfallforwardonyourbreast; raiseyourhead, , , , andtoletthetonepassoutunobstructed.

Thelipsalsomustbemadeflexible, , mo—, , givingthelipsasmuchexerciseaspossible.

Trythefollowingexerciseinthesamemanner:

Mo—E—O—E—OO—Ah.