c. Middle register, the voice becomes gradually stiff, thin and

sharp.

d. Second break. Second change of the voice, its production becoming more difficult and forced.

e. Head register. The voice becomes very sharp and decidedly changed in its characteristics—volume and quality. Its loses the character of human voice, and sounds like an instrument.

In a faulty voice mechanism, the lower tones being produced by an exaggerated effort for the purpose of getting more volume and resonance, the result is that the vocal apparatus, after a series of a few tones, cannot sustain the tension of its organs, and collapses. The voice breaks and gives origin to another series of tones molded on a new adjustment of the vocal organs, which suddenly reshape themselves into a smaller size, and produce smaller tones. Thus, from the chest register suddenly comes out the middle register, smaller in size (Fig. 13).

The middle register begins to show the deformities of the characteristics of the voice, which grow with the ascendency of its altitude. The volume begins to diminish, and the quality becomes stiff and sharp. From the collapse of the vocal organs at a certain point of the middle register, the head register takes origin.

In the head register the deformity of the voice is more appalling. It becomes empty and colorless with certain singers, or very sharp, though thinner in volume, and more like a sound than a human voice—a kind of a big, strong falsetto. In many instances singers cannot pronounce their words in this register, and therefore confine their efforts to singing tones only.

The third illustration in Figure 13 shows the full range of the voice as performed by a natural, correct mechanism. The lower tones, being produced by a normal amount of breath, can reach the lowest extension of the range, thus enabling the voice to run from E below the staff to high C. These low tones, however, are not strong, but rich, because the complete relaxation of the vocal organs allows their vibrations to expand and get the full resonance from all the body cavities. In singing, however, they are not used by tenors and sopranos.

By gradually ascending the scale there comes a point where the voice becomes naturally strong, without forcing its production, and this represents the natural, brilliant section of the compass, which characterizes the different voices—basso, baritone, tenor, soprano, etc.

The rest of the range of the voice follows the same mechanism, keeping its volume and quality almost entirely. The slight changes which may occur in its characteristics are related to the gradual, slight adjustments of the vocal organs for higher tones, but no breaks whatever into registers can take place.

The voice production with no registers, therefore, is able to render the entire range in the same form and quality, and relieves the vocal organs of any strain, giving also the possibility of training and developing a beautiful voice, with astonishing results.

Were a clear conception of the _natural_ range of the voice to exist, nobody would bother about registers. Musical instruments have but one register, and require but one technique for playing at any altitude of their range. Why should it be essential for the human vocal apparatus—the most complete and perfect musical instrument—to undergo an elaborated process of breaks and sudden adjustments for producing the voice?

An original view, of a psychological nature, why we should supplant the theory of registers with one of _psychological intonation_ of the voice, is suggested to the author by the fact that the speaking voice through the meaning of the words rules the singing voice and therefore must rule all its modulations in all the altitudes of its range.

The speaking voice has no registers; yet we talk in high and low pitch, and the modulation of our voice, in its different pitches, is dependent upon the psychological influence of the words.

We talk loudly, for instance, when we are excited, angry, etc.; softly and sweetly under the soothing influence of love, joy and tenderness; low on a solemn or sad occasion. All of these psychological phases influence and rule the pitch and color of our voice.

The changes in the character of the singing voice should be, by analogy, related rather to these emotional influences than to the physical mechanism of voice production, and thus render the entire range of the voice equal in form, provided a correct technique is used.

These psychological changes in the altitudes of the tones require no artificial adjustment of the vocal organs. In recitation, for instance, when the artist wishes to express an exquisite sentiment of happiness, tenderness, a dream or a vision, he raises his voice to a very high pitch (some do it very artistically) in order to produce a light and sweet intonation, and diminishing it at times to a mere shadow of a voice. Human psychology could not suggest any other inflection of voice than the high pitch for expressing such sentiments, as for the interpretation of dramatic feelings the medium and low tones are indicated; and the physiological mechanism of voice production fully obeys the psychological suggestion, without, though, changing the intrinsic characteristics of the voice, irrespective of how high or low the pitch may be.

The same must occur in singing; the changes of pitch, correctly produced, must not result in a change of register, but merely represent the psychological color given to the singing by the different sentiments to be expressed. In the unsurpassed love duet of Tristan and Isolde, for instance, it is the beautiful inspiration of the words more than technical execution of the notes that communicates its mellowness to the voices of the interpreters, and the voice production here is less the result of a skillful mechanical function than the corollary of the psychological influence of the words. The “head register” has nothing whatever to do with the light _mezza voce_ which is required in this duet and is merely the attenuation of the voice under a psychological influence, just as would be the case if the same words were spoken.

The close relationship of the meaning of words with the altitude of the voice is shown by the fact that sometimes, in phrases of very dramatic portent, high pitches of voice are used, in full power and volume, neglecting entirely the change of the chest register into the more adaptable head register. In the _finale_ of the third act of “Aïda,” for instance, the tenor holds the words, _Sacerdote, io resto a te_, in full voice, sustaining several high B’s, which, according to the division of registers, should be produced by the head register; but in so doing the quality of voice would not be suited to the meaning of the words, and would mar this powerful dramatic situation.

To sum up, there are no physiological needs for the break of the voice into registers; by leaving its intonation under psychological control we can attain any altitude in the vocal compass, without subjecting the vocal organs to artificial efforts in order to break the voice into unnecessary registers.

Let psychology rule the voice within the bounds of one register for its entire range! If singers have drama, tragedy and poetry in their hearts, it will show in their singing, whether tragic, dramatic or lyric. The voice being the product of inspiration and natural resources will certainly be the truest and most beautiful expression of art when free from any artificial influence or deformity like the arbitrary break into registers.