people to laugh or weep according to rule. Such methods are demoralizing to all true expression of emotion, and should not be countenanced by those who lay claim to a knowledge of the correct use of the voice. The important thing in the use of vocal quality is that the voice of the speaker shall reflect genuinely the feelings that well up for expression within him, rather than that there be constantly an effort to adjust certain qualities of the voice to given emotions.

The true function of vocal quality. As we have seen, the emotions that may rise in the human breast are without number, and the function of vocal quality is to express these emotions by ever-varying shades and colors of tone. In order to do this in a manner that possesses no element of artificiality, it is necessary to go back to the emotions themselves. Just as correct expression by means of bodily gesture or by inflection of the voice is directly dependent upon the thought that prompts it, so correct expression through tone color depends directly upon the emotional states of the speaker. Let the emotion be strong and clearly defined, and the voice will be very likely to change its color to harmonize with it. A dull, colorless voice is usually indicative of rather shallow emotion or of no emotion at all, just as a voice without inflection or pause shows loose and superficial thinking.

However, there are sometimes certain inhibitions which prevent the voice from reflecting that which the speaker has apparently a very earnest desire to express. A striking example of this recently came to my attention. A young woman, who proved herself to be an exceptionally able student, was almost entirely incapable of expressing

through her voice any degree of feeling. The voice seemed cold and unresponsive, and although the mind did its part and there was unquestionably a very earnest desire to express, the result was almost stoical. Upon my inquiry as to the cause of this condition, the young woman related how from her earliest remembrance she had been taught to repress every show of emotion. As a child she was severely punished whenever she attempted to cry, and throughout her life this process of repression had continued until it had resulted in practically complete inhibition. Cases of this kind not infrequently require much skill and patience on the part of the teacher and are sometimes unfortunately mistaken for mere stupidity. They are, however, the exception rather than the rule, the voice of the average person responding readily through vocal color whenever there is definite awakening of thought and feeling.

The problem, then, of voice quality, as a means of effective expression, resolves itself into one of feeling the proper emotional stimulus for every change in color of tone. Just as any gesture that is made deliberately, with no impulse promoting it, is recognized as a false mode of expression, so any adjustment of the voice whereby it changes color mechanically, instead of in response to what one feels genuinely, is likewise false.

Why voices lack vocal color. If we get down to the very root of the matter, we shall find that the reason why so many read and speak with almost no change of color in the voice is the fact that their emotions are very shallow. They do not more than half feel what they are saying, and often they do not feel at all.

There could be no better illustration of this than the way in which many people read the Bible. Whether it be the interpretation of the profound philosophy of St. Paul, in which the apostle enters into the discussion of some very intricate theological question, or a joyous lyric, expressive of a feeling of great ecstasy, such as many of the Psalms, we are accustomed to hear both types of literature read with identical emotional values. The misconception seems to be that all Scripture should be read with a tone of such color as will be expressive of its sacredness. To give such expression to all passages of Scripture is to misinterpret entirely the nature of the literature of which the Bible is made up.

Readers will do well to remember that the Bible is not a book from the pen of a single writer of a certain age, but that it is a great storehouse of literature, gleaned from many sources through many different generations and ages, and that it consists of writings of almost every character and description. It has both poetry and prose; it has discourse presented in epic, lyric, and dramatic form; it is made up of history, biography, chronology, romance, and parable; and for one to attempt to read it in all its manifold forms with a single prevailing color of the voice is to misinterpret both its content and its purpose. Readers should not forget that some passages of Scripture are lyrics of joy, while others are pæans of grief, and that the voice by means of colors of tone as divergent as somber gray and flaming scarlet should be able to express these widely different emotional values.

What is true of the interpretation of the Bible is true of the interpretation of all other literature and also of the

expression of one's own thought. There can be no true expression by means of voice quality if there is not back of it a clear mental concept and a genuine appreciation of what is to be expressed. The person who reads the lamentations of Job and the Songs of Solomon in an identical tone of voice, with no show of change in vocal color, certainly has very little appreciation of what he is reading. Likewise the speaker whose voice manifests no variations of quality in the expression of his own ideas is not likely to be doing either very clear or very intense thinking. What is needed is a thorough awakening both mentally and emotionally. Until this happens we may be sure that the voice will remain more or less dull and colorless, no matter how many mechanical devices are employed to effect a change. It is to what is taking place within that the attention must be directed first of all.

Vocal color best cultivated by emotional responses. A great deal can be done in the way of developing fullness and richness of tone by means of technical exercises, such as the use of easy-flowing sounds practiced both as notes of speech and as notes of song. These are of much value in developing general vocal resonance. But for the cultivation of vocal quality more particularly, attention should be given to the voice as it changes in response to different emotional states of the speaker.

As in the instance of the father who was stirred by great and sudden emotion upon hearing of the accident that had befallen his child, we find that the manifestation of feeling by a sudden change in the quality of the voice is largely involuntary. Therefore, given an intense emotion, we may reasonably expect the voice to reflect that

emotion faithfully, unless there is some abnormal condition to prevent it. The important thing, then, is to arouse the person within. Once get him to thinking clearly and feeling intensely and there is sure to be a genuine response of some kind in vocal quality. Then by his indulging in repeated responses of this kind, the emotions will grow and manifest themselves through the voice in a manner that is often a surprise to the speaker himself.

Since expression through voice quality is the most natural means of manifesting emotion, it should be cultivated with the view to making it spontaneous and involuntary. Persons whose voices are ordinarily dull and colorless readily acquire the power of expression by means of vocal color when once the emotions have been awakened and the speaker indulges repeatedly in the responses resulting from them.

Cultivating vocal color through imagination. First of all one should endeavor to experience some very definite emotion that will affect the vocal conditions to a marked degree. This can be done by imagining a situation that is very personal and vital.

Let us suppose that you have a dear friend. For years

a friendship has existed between you that has been close and intimate, and one that you have prized above almost everything else. All at once that friend treats you with shocking rudeness and refuses longer even to recognize you. You make many attempts to effect a reconciliation, which only result in making your relations more strained and embarrassing. Finally, after repeated attempts of this kind you realize that a reconciliation can never be brought about, since the mind of your friend has been poisoned