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March 5th, 1S81.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
THE THROAT I N ITS RELATIONS TO SINGING.
A SEEIES OF POPULAR PAPERS BY WHITFIELD WARD, A.M., M.D., PHYSICIAN
TO THE METROPOLITAN THEOAT HOSPITAL.
VI.
How W E SING:—(Continued).
45
there is no communication between the cavity beyond this partition wall and
that in front of it. As the performer ascends the scale, the valve-like
palate lifts itself from the tongue, at first forming two semi-lunar openings,
one on either side of the uvula. When the middle note of the register is
reached, the palate is suspended in the mouth at an equal distance from the
wall of the pharynx and the base of the tongue, as soon as the higher
notes are reached, the body is approximated to, and touches the pharynx,
at first only in three places, namely: at the site of the uvula and at either
extremity, thus forming—as in the case of some of the lower notes two
semi-lunar openings—one on either side. When the highest note of the
register is reached, the pendulus palate is drawn tightly up against the wall
of the pharynx, and no connection whatever is allowed to exist between the
mouth and the posterior nasal cavities. The subjoined cut will serve to
illustrate the three different positions assumed by the palate, as described
above.
The movements of the voice-box.—If you will grasp the upper portion
of the larynx firmly in front, and in the neighborhood of the pnmum Adami,
and run up the scale with your voice, you will rind that as the tones become
higher and higher this portion of the windpipe will gradually elevate itseli',
until the highest note is reached, when it will have attained its greatest
height, having been drawn up to a point nearly on a level with the chin.
If now you will descend the scale you will notice the larynx lower itself
until a low point is arrived at, when it Avill regain its original position.
As the two vocal cords are attached to the thyroid cartilage immediately
behind the prominence of the apple, and as this attachment is very firm,
every time that the larynx rises and falls, the cords must necessarily do like-
wise.
"What changes in the relations of the parts are produced by this series of
movements? Why, every time the windpipe rises the distance between the
vocal cords and the outlets for air—the extremities of the human musical
instrument—is lessened, and every time the windpipe falls this distance
must be increased, and as the larynx, and with it the vocal bodies, rises with
every tone of the ascending scale, it will naturally be inferred that for the
production of the higher notes the distance from the cords to the outlets for
air must be less than that required for the sounding of the lower notes and
vice versa. By directing your attention to a set of organ pipes, a good illus-
tration of this point will be obtained. There you will see that the distance
from the depression, and slit located in the front of each tube, to the top of
the pipe, varies according to the note it is producing, the interval being
greatest in the pipe which gives forth the lowest note, and least in the tube
Fig. 12.—Perpendicular section of the Mouth and Nose.
which sounds the highest note.
H. P. Hard Palate.
8. P. Sv.ft Palate,
Although the voice can be produced at the instant, all the six different
t. Outline of tongue.
acts enumerated above do not take place at once. The cords come together;
P. W. Wall of the Pharynx.
the glottis is formed; and the larynx assumes its position in the neck.
P. N. C. PoBterior Nasal Cavities,
Situation of soft palate during the production of toue3 that issue through the nose alone.
Simultaneously, tension quickly follows, and is instantly succeeded by the o.
b. Situation of soft palate during the production of tone* tnat issue from the mouth alone.
passage of the air current through the glottis, and the vibration of the cords.
c, Situation of soft palate during the production of tones that issue in the same degree from
There ai*e three distinct registers to each voice, namely: the chest, the boih Lose and mouth.
falsetto, and the head.
The above assertions can be easily proved by any person possessing
In the formation of the chest register the vocal bodies vibrate through- slight vocal abilities. All that is necessary to do, is to compress the nostrils-
ont their whole extent, that is to say throughout their whole length and in front so as to preclude the possibility of air escaping therefrom, and pro-
breadth, and all the six elements just described enter in their fullest extent. duce the tones above described. Those that proceed entirely through the-
In the formation of the falsetto register, vibration occurs only in the mouth will of course be unaffected by such pressure, whilst those that pro-
free edges of the cords.
ceed through the nose will be greatly compromised.
The head register can only be produced in windpipes characterized by
To those who have carefully perused the foregoing lines it will be almost
long vocal cords. For its formation it is necessary that the lower half of the superfluous to state that, in order that the higher notes be rendered in a
glottis be closed so that the air current shall pass only through the upper true manner, the nose must be in a healthy condition.
half of this opening, by which means the upper half only of the cords are set
The disease which most often attacks this portion of the human anatomy
into vibration, not however through their whole breadth, but only in the free is catarrh. This malady is the greatest enemy which the singer has to con-
tend against in this climate. Those of the profession who are non-acclimated
There are several minor points in connection with the physiological suffer the most.
action of the cords which I have purposely omitted as they would have a
Catarrh of the head is, properly speaking, an inflammation of the tissue*
direct tendency to confuse and render more intricate this beautiful subject, which line the nasal cavaties, described in the commencement of this article..
T
The Action of the Soft Palate.—The soft palate, or, as it is technically W hen any portion of the body becomes the seat of inflammatory action,
called, velum pendulum pal-ati, plays a most important part in the production of
almost the first thing that is noticeable is a swelling of the parts. It is this-
the voice; unless it saction be correct, true singing will be out of the question. swelling of the mucous membrane lining the nasal passages which offers the-
In the first place let us take a view of the anatomy of the back of greatest obstacle to the singing of those who suffer from catarrh. At first
the mouth, in order that the exact position of the soft palate may be prop- the swelling is slight, but as the disease progresses, becoming more and
erly located in the minds of all. There exists in the majority of singers a more chronic, the swelling increases, until finally it is so great as to com-
great deal of confusion as to what particular organ should be designated by pletely stop up the passages, and prevent the air from issuing therefrom.
the name of palate. The majority of these individuals ihink that it is the As will be easily inferred, all those tones that issue more or less through the
little grape-shaped body which is suspended in the middle of the cavity of nasal passages will be seriously affected, if the swelling of the tissues of the
the mouth. This is a grave error, as the name of the latter organ is the nose be sufficient to prevent the exit of air therefrom. Fortuuately, how-
uvula.
ever, these extreme cases are rare; but they do occasionally exist, and I have
There are two palates in every mouth, viz.: the hard and the soft (See had several cases in which it was impossible to pass a probe of the thickness,
fig. 12). The hard palate is properly known as the roof of the mouth, and of an ordinary darning needle through either nostril.
consists of a layer of bone covered with mucus membrane. The soft palate
All those tones that are styled "Nasal," are caused by a more or less-
is the continuation of the hard. It is composed of mucus membrane and narrowing of the nasal passages, as described above. In order to produce
muscle, is freely movable upwards and downwards, and has hanging from its any kind of a tone, persons affected with this disease are compelled to em-
central point the uvula above alluded to. It is the property of free motion ploy an undue amount of physical force, or, in other words, they force the
which enables the soft palate to play such an important part in vocalization. voice, which will in time, result in a strain of permanent injury of the vocal
If this latter organ were to be permanently fixed in any one position, all cords.
true acts of singing would be out of the question. Immediately behind the
The Action of the Uvula.—The important little body, which is anatomic-
palate are two large holes or passages, called the posterior nasal cavities. ally styled the uvula, plays a most important part in the production of
These are the channels through which the air passes in its journey through vocal tones, notwithstanding this fact, it has generally been discarded by
the nose. The tone-waves vhich are created by the vibrating action of writers upon the physiology of the voice, who, as a class, have considered it
the vocal cords pursue three different courses in their journey from the too insignificant for treatment. The uvula, or as it is wrongly called by
body, viz: Through the mouth, through the nasal organs, and through the many, the palate, is the small pendulous body seen hanging in the central
mouth and nose combined. The direction which each wave takes depends and back part of the mouth (See fig. 13). It is attached at one end to the
entirely upon its position in the voice register. During the vocalization of soft palate, whilst the other remains free.
sounds that pass through the nose alone, the palate rests throughout its
the soft palate is pressed against the back of the tongue, the
entire extent upon the back of the tongue, thus shutting off all communica- uvula When
dormant on the surface of the lingual organ; when, however, the
tion between the mouth and the cavities—the posterior nasal—behind the palate lies
begins to rise, the uvula, which has hitherto been inactive, stretchout
palate, creating a partition wall in the back of the mouth. This action on itself suddenly,
an active participant. As the palate recedes from
the part of the palate is an exceedingly important one, for, by it the length the tongue, the becoming
attached uvula rises and accompanies it in its journey
of the human musical pipe is increased. If during the intonation of certain upwards, until finally
end only touches the back of the lingual ,
notes the palate should be pressed up against the pharynx—the back of the organ. When this point its is tip
arrived at, if the uvula is of the normal size, the
throat—exactly the same effect would be produced as though a piece of the soft
palate occupies the medium line of the mouth, that is to say, it is equi-
upper extremity of an organ pipe were to be cut off, namely, the placing of distant
from the tongue and back wall of the throat (the pharynx), a posi-
the note higher in the scale. During the intonation of sounds that pass tion hitherto
to where the vocal tones issue in the same degree front
through the mouth alone, the palate is pressed tightly against the back of both nose and alluded
mouth.
the throat—the pharynx—thus cutting off all communication between the
At about this time, as the singer proceeds in the ascending scale, the
mouth and the nose behind. The human musical instrument is thus mater-
ially shortened. In the production of these tones, the roof of the mouth uvula is seen to be drawn speedily upwards. This action is entix'ely muscular,,
made up of hard and soft palate, acts the part of a sounding-board, thus and is an exceedingly important one. If you should place the little mirror
increasing the timbre of the voice and greatly adding to its beauty. During of the laryngoscope behind the palate, and watch the parts during the above
the tinging of tones that issue in the same degree from both nose and action, you would see that as the uvula is drawn upwards a prominence
mouth, the pendulous palate is poised in the back of the mouth, at an equal appears at the back of the palate, which increases in size as the little pendu-
distance from the tongue and wall of the pharynx. Let us examine a vocal- lous body ascends, and reaches its maxium, when the uvula is drawn
ist during the singing of the scale. At the intonation of the lowest note upwards to its fullest extent. What significance has this peculiar action?
the palate rests throughout its entire extent en the base of the tongue, and Why, the instant the uvula leaves the tongue, the prominence which is
formed at the back of the palate touches the wall of the pharynx; so that at