QUALITY.

QUALITY has reference to _the kind of sound_ uttered.

Two sounds may be alike in quantity and pitch, yet differ in quality.
The sounds produced on the clarinet and flute may agree in pitch and
quantity, yet be unlike in quality. The same is true in regard to the
tones of the voice of two individuals. This difference is occasioned
mainly by the different positions of the vocal organs.

The qualities of voice mostly used in reading or speaking, and which
should receive the highest degree of culture, are the _Pure Tone_, the
_Orotund_, the _Aspirated_, and the _Guttural_.

RULES FOR QUALITY.

1. THE PURE TONE is a clear, smooth, sonorous flow of sound, usually
accompanied with the middle pitch of voice, and is adapted to express
emotions of _joy, cheerfulness, love_, and _tranquillity_.

EXAMPLE.

Hail! beauteous stranger of the wood,
Attendant on the spring,
Now heaven repairs thy vernal seat,
And woods thy welcome sing.

2. THE OROTUND is a full, deep, round, and pure tone of voice,
peculiarly adapted in expressing _sublime_ and _pathetic emotions_.