respiratory apparatus is used like the bellows of a musical instrument, and
it is controlled and directed by the will; the art of breathing properly is
fundamental for the proper production of the singing voice and the speaking
voice of the orator. It is necessary always to maintain in the lungs, which
act as the bellows, a sufficient reserve of air to finish a phrase;
therefore when the opportunity arises it is desirable to take in as much
air as possible through the nostrils, and without any apparent effort; the
expenditure of the air in the lungs must be controlled and regulated by the
power of the will in such a manner as to produce efficiency in loudness
with economy of expenditure. It must be remembered, moreover, that mere
loudness of sound does not necessarily imply carrying power of the voice,
either when speaking or singing. Carrying power, as we shall see later,
depends as much upon the proper use of the resonator as upon the force of
expulsion of the air by the bellows. Again, a soft note, especially an
aspirate, owing to the vocal chink being widely opened, may be the cause of
an expenditure of a larger amount of air than a loud-sounding note.
Observations upon anencephalous monsters (infants born without the great
brain) show that breathing and crying can occur without the cerebral
hemispheres; moreover, Goltz's dog, in which all the brain had been removed
except the stem and base, was able to bark, growl, and snarl, indicating
that the primitive function of the vocal instrument can be performed by the
lower centres of the brain situated in the medulla oblongata. But the
animal growled and barked when the attendant, who fed it daily, approached
to give it food, which was a clear indication that the bark and growl had
lost both its affective and cognitive significance; it was, indeed, a
purely automatic reflex action. It was dependent upon a stimulus arousing
an excitation in an instinctive automatic nervous mechanism in the medulla
oblongata and spinal cord presiding over synergic groups of muscles
habitually brought into action for this simplest form of vocalisation,
connected with the primitive emotion of anger.