I

THE HUMAN VOICE

The Human Voice

NEXT TO THE eyes, which reflect the soul in silence, the human voice is the supreme instrument which enables man to express his inmost self.

It is so intimately connected with the subtle vibrations of the mental, vital, nervous and physical being that it can manifest the most delicately remote or the most profound thought or feeling which the finest musical instrument fashioned by the skill of man cannot do.

To tell, and tell beautifully the thoughts and feelings which occur within us is an art of human

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expression which all educated people can acquire provided they wish to make the effort of learning to know their instrument and have that love for perfection, the joy and delight of expressing the tin manifest.

All true art is expressing or manifesting a truth experienced within. This urge, this longing to express what is within us is the very spirit of our evolving consciousness; it is the ever-present hint of a perfection striving to manifest through the process of our terrestrial evolution.

In the human voice the Creator has given man an instrument incomparable to any of the wonders that man has been able to create, through his science, ingenuity or imagination.

It is agreed that the violin, at its best , comes nearest to the human voice for tone, range and resonance, hut even in the hands or a master it cannot approach the perfection or the divinely created instrument.

It is well known that to learn to play the violin takes time, practice, discipline and a detailed study of both music and instrument, yet man has still to acquire a mastery over his own voice.

He takes this most precious, this most delicate of instruments for granted. He is born with it, therefore he need not give any further thought to it. And so he misuses it, abuses it, endeavours to

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articulate words in an attempt to impart ideas or information, so sure in his own mind of the thought to be expressed as to be beguiled into thinking that a few sounds carelessly muttered are sufficient to make his thoughts equally clear to his hearers.

Modern man may protest that he has little time for such ' luxuries', as voice-production or speech-training. Life is too fast, too complex, too demanding.

It is true, we do not live in the age of serenity, but that is precisely why it is most necessary for us to make the best use of the instruments with which we are fortunate enough to have been born; for in such a competitive world, where much more is required of man, he must utilise all his faculties to their best advantage.

Man needs to express higher and profounder thoughts, wider and more complex ideas than, say, fifty years ago, and for this the precision and accuracy of his speech-articulation must be more perfect and measure up to the ever-progressive and evolving demands of modern life. Whether it be direct speech, the telephone, the radio, Dictaphone, television or any of the audio-visual projects of modern science technology, the voice of man must measure its accuracy against the mechanical perfection of scientific progress.

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We must ourselves progress along with our technical and educational evolution if we are not to be kept behind in the amorphous mass of humanity, content with its past dawns of achievement and civilisation.

The tone-value, personality and range of the human voice depend on the coordination of several functions, i.e. upon an even respiration, where inhalation and exhalation are balanced without strain or conscious effort, on the control of the larynx and also .of the constriction of the glottis.

The speaker must understand how, by this coordination and control, he can produce the effect which adequately expresses his inner thought and feeling, according to his intention.

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