Mouthpiece

“ The mouthpiece of the horn differs substantially from that of the trumpet.2 There is, strictly speaking, no cup, the inside of the mouthpiece being, like the bore of the instrument itself, in the form of a truncated cone or funnel. Like the other parts of this difficult and complex instrument, the proportions of the mouthpiece must bear a certain undefined relation to the length and diameter of the column of air. The choice of a suitable mouthpiece is in fact a test of skill ”

“ With such a mouthpiece, used by itself without any trumpet, I could easily get notes from that is to say, that a continuous glide ranging over that compass can be made, the pitch at any moment being determined by the lip-pressure, rather than by the small air-column. When such a distorted mouthpiece is fitted to a
trumpet, we have a resonator whose proper tones are disturbed and all the notes sounded are capable of being much modified in pitch by the lips. ”

“ The call is produced by pressing the mouthpiece against the lips, which must be nearly closed, sucking in the air, placing the ball of the thumb on the bowl of the pipe, and again quickly removing it. It is easy to produce the required sound with a very little practice. ”

“ As already stated, the modifications of the vowel sounds for articulate speech are made in the cavities of the mouth, the upper part of the throat and by the nostrils, and are further modified by the position of the teeth, lips and palate. In perfect singing or speaking, we must have all these parts in a normal condition, and where there is no obstruction, defect, congestion or inflammation, there is no interference with the free motion or vibration of the parts concerned in voice production. ”

“ Of the tongue, soft palate, and lips, which are the principal modifiers of the shape of the mouth cavity, the tongue has by far the most influence. When the tongue lies flat in the mouth, it may be considered to be in its primary position, and it is important that in singing and speaking the student learn to begin his voice-production with this organ in that position, or a slight modification of it, for it is only when it is thus placed that a tone at once round, full, and pure can be produced. ”

“ THE MOUTH, TEETH, JAW AND CHIN
A mouth to be beautiful should be in harmony as regards proportion with the rest of the features of the face; that is, it should be neither remarkably large nor remarkably small. Neither the upper nor the lower lip should project beyond the other when the mouth is closed. The lips should shut easily over the teeth, and in doing so should fall into a flowing line of curves without compression. The more the lips are endowed with motion and the more richly they are coloured, the finer and more delicate are the human passions they indicate. ”

“ The perfection of a tone at a certain pitch depends, in the resonance of the cavity of the mouth, upon the utterance of some vowel, to which the parts of the mouth are adjusted; and this perfection is considerably affected by even a slight variation in the timbre of the vowel, as it occurs in different dialects of the same language. On the other hand, the peculiar tones of the cavity of the mouth are almost wholly independent of age and sex. The peculiar pitch of the resonance apparatus has also an influence upon the tone. ”

“ This average pitch, or key, or at least the character of the tone, will be maintained without much change, and with special care that the tone be kept up in its place at the ends of lines or sentences, and be kept well fixed on its breath foundation. The simpler inflections indicating the plain meaning, will of course be observed, the tone will be kept easily supported by the frequently recovered breath that is under it. The back of the mouth will seem to be constantly somewhat open. There will be no attempt at special power, but only a free, mellow, flowing tone of moderate strength. ”

“ As the crude tone issues from the larynx, the mouth, tongue and soft palate, moulding themselves by the most delicately adaptive movements into every conceivable variety of shape, clothe the raw bones of sound with body and living richness of tone. ”

“ Unless the pupil is very careful, he will find some difficulty in keeping the mouth sufficiently wide open, he will gradually close the mouth until the teeth are brought nearly together, before the sound is finished, the inevitable consequence of which is a smothered, imperfect and lifeless utterance of the syllable or word. A good opening of the mouth is absolutely indispensable in giving the voice the full effect of round, smooth and agreeable tone. ”

“ First, always practice softly; try to produce a light positive attack in the middle register. My tongue is never rigid when playing, and rests at the bottom of my mouth, the end pressed slightly against the lower teeth. I then produce the staccato, by the centre of the tongue striking against the roof of the mouth. This I have practiced so as to acquire rapid single Tongueing without fatigue, nor causing a clumsy tone, and when under full control, Double and Triple Tongueing becomes a simple matter by diligent practice, keeping the mind upon each articulation. ”

“ There are two distinct registers which should be judiciously alternated by the speaker. These are the "chest" register, in which the vocal cords vibrate their whole length, and [Pg 114] the quality of tone derives most of its character from the chest cavity; and the "head" register, in which the vocal cords vibrate only in part, and the quality of tone is reenforced by the resonators of the face, mouth, and head. The first of these registers is sometimes called the "orotund" voice from its quality of roundness, and is employed principally in language of reverence, sublimity, and grandeur. ”

“ Though, for making the liquids, the tip of the tongue and the sides of the tongue are used, yet the requisite is not any exact adjustment of the tip, but an imperfect contact with the palate. For the th, the tip is used along with the edges of the tongue; but no perfect adjustment is required, either to the edges of the teeth, or to the junction of the teeth with the palate, where the sound may equally well be made. ”

“ In quick speech, however, the closure is usually inaudible in such words or, more correctly, the sounds overlap.
12. The narrowing or closing of the passage may be effected at various points. The lips may be partially or completely closed; the lower lip may be pressed against the upper teeth; different parts of the tongue may be pressed against the teeth, or the gums, or the palate. Pass your finger along the roof of your mouth, and notice that only the front of it is hard; we distinguish the hard palate and the soft palate. ”

“ If the muscles of the throat are constricted, the tone passage partially closed, and the mouth kept half-shut, how can you expect the tone to come out bright and clear, or even to come out at all? Sound is a series of waves, and if you make a prison of your mouth, holding the jaws and lips rigidly, it will be very difficult for the tone to squeeze through, and even when it does escape it will lack force and carrying power. Open your mouth wide, relax all the organs of speech, and let the tone flow out easily. ”

“ The words will thus be formed outside the mouth and be readily heard, as is a person talking in front of, instead of behind, a screen. A single, intelligent trial will be sufficient to show the correctness of the statement. Thinking of the upper lip as the fashioner of the words makes speaking easy and singing a delight.
To smile while talking gives to the words a flat, silly sound, hence the corners of the mouth should be kept well forward. [Pg 20]
THE SINGER'S SCALE OF VOWEL SOUNDS
It may fasten this in mind to remember that at one end of the vowel scale is—me, at the other—you. ”

“ As already explained, the quality of tone is entirely influenced by the number of over-tones, these being due to other parts of the throat accessory to the vocal cords in voice production.
Fig. 6. Diagram of Vocal apparatus During Pronunciation of Vowel 'ah' (Seiler) Before explaining this point, we must first consider what other organs are essential in the production of the voice. The fundamental tones are made in the larynx as already explained, but these alone do not produce articulate speech; in fact, such tones are not limited to the human race. ”

“ The concurrence of teeth, palate and tongue, in the formation of speech should seem to be indispensable, and yet men have spoken distinctly though wanting a tongue, and to whom, therefore, teeth and palate were superfluous. ”

“ In like manner, many passages in Shakespeare and others of the best writers in all languages can only be spoken with effect by those with a mastery over the tongue, lips, soft palate, etc., but above all, the tongue.
Important as are the lips, many persons tend to use them too much, and the tongue too little, in speaking and singing. They attempt to make up for a mouth almost closed in front by the teeth, by excessive movements of the lips. ”

“ The signs—as they are to the deaf—made by the vocal organs are entirely arbitrary, and have not even a fraction of the redeeming feature of naturalness which oralists demand in ordinary gestures. (4) Circumstances, such as light, position of the speaker, &c., must be favourable for the lip-reading to approach certainty. (5) Styles of speech vary, and it is a constant experience that even pupils who comparatively easily read their teacher’s lips, to whose style of utterance they are accustomed, fail to read other people’s lips. ”

“ Look upon the lips: their lively colour, freshness, figure, seat, and proportion, with the other features, render the face most beautiful. The mouth, by the correspondence of its motions with those of the eyes, animates, gladdens, suddens, softens, or troubles the face, and by sensible marks expresses every passion. The lips not only open to receive food, but by their suppleness and the variety of their motions serve likewise to vary the sounds that form speech. ”

“ The under lip is little more than its supporter, the rosy cushion on which the crown of majesty reposes. If the parts of any two [Pg 60] bodies can be pronounced to be exactly adapted to each other, such are the lips of man, when the mouth is closed. Words are the pictures of the mind. ”

“ We must remember, moreover, that a sound can be more variously changed and modified, the larger and more variable is the part of the mouth which serves as a chamber of resonance, that is to say, the further back the place is in which it is manufactured. The vowels consequently come first in capability of modification, then the gutturals and dentals, and finally the labials. ”

“ Those who have never had a bit in their mouths cannot think how bad it feels; a great piece of cold hard steel as thick as a man's finger to be pushed into one's mouth, between one's teeth and over one's tongue, with the ends coming out at the corner of your mouth, and held fast there by straps over your head, under your throat, round your nose, and under your chin ”

“ The vocal apparatus is perfected by the addition of the cavities which produce resonance, viz., the pharynx, the mouth, and the nasal fossæ. The pharyngeal cavity, into which open the œsophagus and the larynx, is continuous with the buccal cavity, a hollow box admirably adapted for articulation. Its shape and size are extremely variable. The cheeks constitute walls which can be compressed or dilated with the slightest effort; the lips, which bound the anterior opening, are perfectly mobile; the tongue can be moved in every direction ”

“ First of all, we find that in every known language use is made of exactly the same organic apparatus for the production of speech, that is, the glottal passage in the larynx, the nasal passages, the tongue, the hard and soft palate, the teeth and the lips. The fact that we are accustomed to consider all speech as self-evidently dependent on these organs should not blind us to the importance of the association. ”

“ The mouth should be small, and the lips not of equal thickness; they should be well turned, small rather than gross, soft even to the eye, and with a living red in them. A truly pretty mouth is like a red rose-bud that is beginning to blow. ”

“ The motion of the lips should be moderate, to moisten them by thrusting the tongue between them is very disagreeable, and biting the lips is equally unbecoming. We should speak with the mouth, more than with the lips. ”

“ Bring the tone forward, direct it against the hard palate just above the upper teeth, send it up through the head with a vigorous impulse of the diaphragm. You must always feels the tone in the nasal cavities. ”

“ The solid parts are sharply resonant; they are, par excellence, the resonators in voice-production; while a pliable part, like the pharynx, although resonant in a less degree, is valuable in adjusting structural shape to every condition that arises; and the most movable parts of all, the tongue and the lips, probably wholly devoid of resonance, have their great rôles to play in effecting what may be called wholesale changes in the size and shape of the mouth-cavity, which could not be brought about by any other agencies less mobile. ”

“ Their color changes too, and deepens, and darkens, and grows black and purple, as doth the dome above us. Her mouth is large, but gracious, and full of laughter mixed with truth and firmness. There is no feature that can so truly express character as the mouth. The eyes can shift and change, but the mouth retains its expression always.
She is clad in a snowy gown of simple cotton, that sits loosely to her lissom figure yet fails to disguise the beauty of it. ”

“ Point stops. [24] —The breath is stopped by the action of the point of the tongue touching the teeth (in which case we have true dentals) or the upper gums (this is known as alveolar articulation, "alveoli" being the learned word for the gums) . In English the point of the tongue rarely touches the teeth; usually it touches the upper gums, sometimes the hard palate (this should be avoided) , in which case it approaches [k] . ”