TILL ADVANCING in our study, we come now to the consideration of the chief avenue of communication between human beings; which is the speaking voice. Perhaps ninety percent of all communication is made by the sounds of the voice, when magnetism is employed. It is true that a letter may be magnetic, but only through what is known as mental magnetism; and printed words may in the same way hold power over a reader. There is a very large Department of this book that is devoted to the Magnetic Voice; but as we are dealing with tension, we are including the tense voice in the present Department. It will make the Voice lessons that much easier to master.

GRAND PRINCIPLE The magnetic voice is always tense.

Magnetism, exerted through the voice in speaking and singing, is so very important an accomplishment, that we devote one entire Step in this course to the subject. Here, we briefly sketch some phases of the use of magnetic voice.

There are three general classes of voices: the flat, the tense and the emotional. The first is the common sound which is everywhere heard, from the simplest remark up to the vigorous tones of the huckster or the wearisome orator; a mere mechanism of sound. Flat voices are never tense, never vibrant, never possessed of feeling; for which reason the street vendor would never succeed in the lecture field; and for which reason also the vast majority of public speakers, preachers, advocates andothers fail who might be great if they had the enterprise to get better delivery. In daily conversation this flatness of sound is the universal experience. When a voice tires you, the cause is easily ascertained. No tense voice is ever wearisome. Some vibrant voices are.Some emotional voices are. There are so many characteristic classes of sound vibration involved that the subject seems endless. Sound itself is a wave-force, but when kept within its own range it is always sound. It is possible to add other vibrations to it. Even the church organ is given a tremolo that corresponds to the same action of the singing and speaking voice; but this is neither evidence of tenseness nor of feeling. Many persons wonder why the piano or the organ yields a more impressive sound under the touch of a genius than when the amateur manipulates it; and why at times the expert ismore skillful than usual. Technique and finish are factors of importance, but there is the indescribable something that cannot be accounted for by any rules of execution. It is magnetism. But how can magnetism affect a musical instrument? Is the latter not a mechanical affair that is what it is made to be, a mere tool? Yes, but so are the vocal cords of the throat. So is everything; bones, flesh, muscles, nerves, all are parts of a machine of matter. Back of the material is the soul, the vital-spark, the magnetic quality. So when the gifted musician touches the keys of the musical instrument this quality lives in the vibrations of a tense hand, waves as small as light-pulsations that go out into the air and awaken a harmony in all other life. But they are felt by all who hear them. If your voice is flat it can never be magnetic; and the first step to be taken is towards the destruction of the flatness. This is done by the adoption of the tremolo in all degrees of coarseness and fineness; an old attempt to substitute the appearance for the reality. The throat tremolo is used much in musical training, but it is not natural. Emotion springs from the diaphragm, a large muscle situated at the base of the lung cavity and just above the stomach. To find this muscle place the fingers over the stomach at that place where the apex of the rib-arch is found. It is at the highest part of theabdomen and the lowest part of the chest, at the soft hone.

When you cough the diaphragm jumps up and its edge gives a leap forward. This can be detected by the fingers. Now take a deep breath, place the palm of the left hand on this edge of the diaphragm and the palm of the right hand over back of the left hand. Pronounce the sound "oo" as long as possible, while shaking the lower chest with the rapid action of the hands. This will make the tone shaky. It is the only natural tremolo, for the diaphragm by its vibrations produces laughter, gladness, joy, grief, sorrow, weeping, crying, hysterics and every mood known to the human heart.

This class of vibrations is divisible into a hundred or more grades. The usual series in the study of expression embraces ten only and they should be fixed in the voice by practice After the hand has caused the tremolo the next step is to produce it without the aid of the hand. Prolong the sound "oh" instead of "oo," with a decided tremolo, and keep at it until it is very easy to say such sentences as the following with ease: "Pity the sorrows of a poor old man," "Oh, the long and dreary winter;" "Dear master, I can go no further," and the like When this can be done the next step is to increase and decrease the range of the vibrations; that is, to make them wider and narrower at will. The doing of this is of the utmost importance, and is not an easy task.

We recommend that you make a gamut of the tremolos, from one to ten. Take a large piece of brown paper and a heavy pencil. Across the top make a wavy line, about ten inches long and two inches wide, and mark this the tenth degree of the tremolo. Under it make another wavy line ten inches long, but with waves only an inch high, calling it the ninth degree, under that put another wavy line, three-fourths of an inch high, as the eighth degree; then under "'that put the seventh degree, which will have waves a half-inch high; then the sixth degree, with waves three-eighths of an inch high; then the fifth degree with waves one-fourth of an inch high; then the fourth degree with waves one-eighth of an inch high; the third degree with waves one-sixteenth of an inch high; the second degree, with waves one-thirty-second of an inch high, and a straight line for the first degree, representing a flat voice. The rule of practice is to begin at the middle degree and increase, then decrease in turn. It will be seen that the scale of increase is not regular. When the finer tremolos can be used at will it is neccessary to exclude the plain ones. A plain tremolo is one that is audible; it expresses emotion rather than magnetism. A concealed tremolo is one that is present but not noticeable. It attracts no attention as a wave-action of sound, but it affords an easy transit to a tense voice. To develop the latter we advise theforegoing practice, and then the use of the sentences given inconnection with the tense eye under the following methods.

The purpose of cultivating these fine and indistinguishable vibrations is to destroy the flatness of the voice, and to prevent the building of the voice of an auctioneer or mere shouter, such as wehear too much in the pulpit, in the courtroom and in public addresses. This is one purpose, but not the main one. The waves must be too fine to be noticed. As soon as they are given the intense power that belongs to the magnetic voice, their real value will be recognized. There will be no more drowsiness in church; nor indifferent listeners anywhere.

In order to produce the tense voice, assuming that you have acquired the fine vibrations as stated, develop the tense chest according to the practice that will follow in this Department, and associate with it the tense eye as taught in the Department of the Magnetic Eye in the early part of this book. You are then ready to graduate from this lesson of the tense voice. We repeat here some quotations that are useful. Let each one be spoken easily without raised pitch or loudness of tone; keeping the chest tense and the eye tense: "I will have my bond."—Emphasize the last word. "I WILL have my bond."—Emphasize the second word. Repeat this quotation now with the hand becoming gradually tense as it closes in firm determination.

"Civilization on her luminous wings soars phenix-like to Jove."—Repeat this with raised eyes tensed, chest tense, vibrant voice, and right hand raised over the head. Repeat twenty times each day until the power that is sought shall be recognized by you as having come into the voice.

In this connection review all the lessons of the Department of the Magnetic Eye, and read ahead the remaining lessons in this Department.