The art of singing

"The human voice will never cease to be the most beautiful of instruments when properly used; it will never cease to strike the chords of the heart with a directness and an intensity unapproached by any other instruments."  

"To this end tow factors are necessary; first, the breath must be under perfect control; second, the vocal organs must be trained to act with unconscious ease. "

"Noiseless and imperceptible breathing was the goal which the singers of the past age prided themselves on reaching."

"How high should we breath? As high as possible without giving up the freedom and elasticity of the points of the shoulders. Within these limits we should feel an ample expansion at the back, especially under the shoulder-blades, but the chest should be raised very little."

"How deeply should we breath? As deeply as possible, if we can at the same time expand the sides and back without feeling the existence of the should points, or raising them in  the slightest degree. Considerable pressure and expansion should be felt at the soft place under the breastbone; below this we should be slightly draw in."

"The more vigorously the diaphragm descends, displacing the parts underneath it, the more energetically are the abdominal muscles enable to contract again. The higher the ribs are raised the better are the opposing muscles able to pull them down again, it being understood that this holds good only so long as the shoulders and chest are free."

"We should always have a quantity in reserve at the close of the phrase."

"In conclusion, the singer must acquire such control over the mechanism of the breath, that the mode of taking it will not interfere in the least with the mechanism of the voice."

"An old Italian axiom is, The art of singing is the school of respiration." "This branch of the art has its equivalent in the right use of bow in violin playing, and in a right kind of pianoforte playing."


-------From William Shakespeare "The art of singing"