First, _Accuracy of Form_. This not with severity, but with
perfection coming from sensitive response of the articulating organs to
the form concept as held in the mind. One should avoid the practice of
exertion in the execution of articulated forms.

Second, _Tone Quality_, secured by the right relation of the tone
form to the line of resonance, is very important and may be attained by
careful attention to musical beauty and a sense of harmony. This is the
right _placing_ of tones.

Third, _Proportion_ must be carefully considered. Very often
unaccented syllables are made unduly prominent and unimportant words are
over-emphasized through lack of attention to this principle. The careful
appreciation of rhythm, or the _movement_ of syllables in
enunciation, gives a flowing, easy, well-proportioned clearness that is
indispensable to beauty. This should be practised in connection with the
interpretation of melodious, _flowing_ passages, which will furnish
opportunity for the appreciation of the relation between the accented and
unaccented syllables and the important and unimportant words. Such
material as Bryant's "Thanatopsis" is good.

Fourth, _Phrasing_. The careful observation of the three foregoing
aspects of articulation leads at once to the fourth; namely, the
expressive value of words in direct relation to the interpretation itself.
This is closely connected with phrasing, and the phrase, which is the
larger "thought word," should be studied as the communicating link between
the articulation of the part and interpretation as it relates to
literature itself. In connection with this comes the consideration of
slides and the finer modulations of tone-color, movement, and cadence. But