Part 5

In this quality of the voice which I have termed elasticity, the vocal organs do not seem to report themselves, but only the thought and sentiment. By shading, I mean the degree of density in the tone where the thought and not the word seems to be stressed. The vocal organs are held under firm but most delicate control. Here the voice may suggest great noise but make none, and in all ways cause the mind of the hearer to listen to sounds it does not really make.

The picturesque voice springs from the desire to make other minds think what it cannot literalize. The state of mind which produces this voice is that of asking the hearer to imagine real things that cannot be presented to the senses. For an illustration of this, read the poem, “Midsummer,” by Trowbridge.

There is a voice of fact and a voice of power. The voice of fact gives information; the voice of power appeals to the imagination. The artistic voice is the voice of the imagination. One of the offices of the imagination is that of image making. In children this power is very noticeable. When some children think of a thing, an image of it rises in their minds; they suppose this image to be a fact of experience, and, with no thought of falsehood, describe it as such. Because of this they are frequently whipped for lying; and this power of mental image making, which, if properly developed, would be of inestimable value to the child, instead of being guided, is cruelly interfered with and arrested.

This power of mental image making is always highly developed in great artists. Great musical composers first hear the music in their minds, and then make it intelligible to others through the noted page. The great painter carries objects in his mind long before he puts them on canvas, and is able as well to create new objects suggested by things he has seen. An architect sees in his mind the magnificent temple, when as yet not a stone of which it is to be built has left the quarry. John B. Gough declared that sometimes he was unable to distinguish persons whom he saw in the audience from those which his imagination created.

Wordsworth did not write “The Daffodils” while looking at the flowers as sense objects. It was afterwards, when he saw them as they lived in his imagination, that he wrote of them in a way that has made them real to the imaginations of others.

“For oft when on my couch I lie, In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye, Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”

I have dwelt upon the physiology of the voice, showing its relation to psychology. In the third and fourth volumes of the Evolution of Expression we deal with the direct relation of psychology to Oratory.

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INDEX.

A

Animation of voice 102-104

B

Breathing through the nose 30

C

Center, dominant, of the voice 73, 74 Cerebrum, cut of 52 Cerebral connection of cerebral nerves, cut of 62 Chambers, fixed resonant 33 Chambers, transient resonant 33 Clergyman’s sore throat 49-50

D

Diaphragm, cut of 26 Diaphragm, description of 27 Diaphragm during the expiration of breath and the production 30 of tone, difference in the action of the

E

Emphasis, four forms of 92 Exercises for forming transient resonant chambers for 83-85 beautiful word elements Exercises for securing freedom and proper direction of tone 81-82 and for establishing right habits in the use of the voice Expiration, muscles of 23, 24

F

Forming the elements 107, 108 Forming pictures 114-117

G

Glottis, cuts of 17

H

Health, relation of the proper use of the voice to 39

I

Inspiration, muscles of 23, 24

L

Larynx, cut of 16 Larynx, description of 14 Liver, cut of 45 Liver, effect of the voice upon the 47 Loudness 20 Lungs, cut of 21 Lungs, description of 20 Lungs, effect of the voice upon the 40-42

M

_Ma-za-ska-a_ 87-88 Mental concept 74-76 _M-nom_ 83 _Most-men-want-poise-and-more-royal-margin_ 83-86 Mucous membrane, effect of voice upon the 47

N

Nares, description of 34 Nares, cut of 32 Nares resonance 81, 82 Nerves, description of cranial 53-54 Nerves, cut of cranial 56, 57 Nerve, cut of Hypoglossal 63 Nervous system, relation of the proper use of the voice to the 53

O

Organs, name of organs that produce voice 14 Organs, description of organs that produce voice 14-33 Organs, name of organs that reinforce voice 33 Organs, description of organs that reinforce voice 33-37 Organs, name of organs that give resonant forms to voice 37 Organs, description of organs that give resonant forms to voice 37-39 Overtones 70, 71

P

Pharynx, description of 34 Pharynx, cut of 32 Pitch 19, 20

R

Respiration, muscles of 23 Resonance, relation of pitch to 66-70 Rhythm 89, 90

S

Slide 109, 110 Slide in volume 112-114 Smoothness of voice 105 Stomach, effect of the voice upon the 42 Stomach, cut of 44

T

Trachea, description of 37 Trachea, cut of 36 Technique, vocal, as illustrated in the first and second volumes 94-117 of the Evolution of Expression Tone, projection of 92-93 Tone quality 77-80

V

Vital organs, relation of the proper use of the voice to 40 Vital slide 110-112 Vocal cords, description of 14 Vocal cords, cuts of 17 Voice, the natural reporter of the individual 1-12 Voice defined 13 Voice, cause of 13 Voice, methods for cultivating the 72-88 Voice, right direction and freedom of the 72, 73 Voice, quality of 91 Volume of voice 105-107

* * * * *

THE WORKS OF

CHARLES WESLEY EMERSON

* * * * *

PHILOSOPHY OF GESTURE or, EXPRESSIVE PHYSICAL CULTURE

The psychological and physiological basis and teaching principles of the Emerson System of Expressive Physical Culture and Responsive Drill-Value of Art Models, Aesthetic Laws of Expression explained with illustrations drawn from classic art.

* * * * *

PSYCHO VOX or, THE EMERSON SYSTEM OF VOICE CULTURE

Considering the voice as the natural reporter of the individual. The relation of the proper use of the voice to the nervous system and to health. Exercises for securing freedom and proper direction of tone and for establishing right habits in the use of the voice.

* * * * *

PHYSICAL CULTURE

How to attain health, strength, grace and beauty, bodily education without the use of apparatus. Thirty-eight illustrations prepared especially for this work. A hand book for student and teacher.

* * * * *

EVOLUTION OF EXPRESSION Four Volumes

Selections chosen from classical literature. Explanatory notes for the study of each chapter. Compiled with special reference to the needs of teachers and students of both literature and expression. The only published work on the principles underlying the Emerson System of Oratory or Expression.

* * * * *

THE PERFECTIVE LAWS OF ART Four Volumes

A compilation of selections illustrating the sixteen perfective laws of art applied to oratory. This work is adapted to the use of all advanced students in expressive reading. It consists of sixteen chapters, with a key to the study of each chapter.

* * * * *

SIX LECTURES One Volume

Lectures embracing advanced principles of Education. The Power of the Ideal, The Law of Power in Oratory, How to read the Bible, The relation of Art to Man, etc.

A book of vital interest to students of Oratory, to teachers of all branches of education and to professional men.

* * * * *

EMERSON PUBLISHING COMPANY PUBLISHERS MILLIS, MASS.

* * * * *

=Transcriber’s Notes:=

Typographical errors have been corrected as noted below:

Page 34, The pharnyx is for the ==> The pharynx is for the Page 52, OF THE CEREBRAI HEMISPHERE ==> OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE