BREATHING EXERCISES. THE proper development and control of the Breathing Organs, and the correct use of the breath in the production of tone, are the first and most essential conditions to success in the study and practice of Elocution. No substantial progress can be assured the student who does not give early and special attention to the exercises in Breathing. Breath is the chief source of power. It is the "lumber-yard of the orator"-the rough material out of which speech is manufactured. But it is not so much the amount of breath that is desirable, as the manner in which it is used. Here, economy is better than quantity. Nothing will so soon bankrupt a voice as prodigality of breath. CALISTHENIC BREATHINGS. Success in the control of breath depends largely upon the strength and flexibility of the muscles of the waist, particularly the abdominal muscles. What is known as Abdominal or Waist Breathing is regarded by the best voice culturists and physiologists as the only correct and normal method. The canary in its cage, the cat on the rug, the babe in the cradle, and the red-man in his native wilds, all teach us that the abdominal breathing is nature's method. If you are uncertain what this is, practice the following breathing exercises, and notice what takes place at the waist in front: First, empty the lungs. Then slowly and continuously sip in the air between the partially compressed lips, until the lungs are well filled. You will observe an expansion or pressing forward at the waist. Then let out the breath through the compressed lips as slowly and gently as it was taken in. You will now notice the abdominal muscles relaxing and gradually giving way. This action is essential to correct breathing. The diaphragm or floor of the lung cavity is lowered during the process of the inhalation of the breath, and raised in the exhalation. The exercise given above may be practiced with great benefit in the following manner: BLOWING AND SIPPING THE BREATH. - With the hands on the hips, elbows and shoulders well back, and fingers placed upon the abdominal muscles, first empty the lungs by blowing the air steadily and forcibly through a quill tooth-pick, or any other small tube, held tightly between the lips. Then fill the lungs by sipping the air in through the quill with as much force as you can. This is one of the very best exercises for strengthening the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. Avoid raising the shoulders while breathing; keep them well back and down. FULL AND DEEP BREATHING. With hands in the same position, first exhaust the lungs, pressing the fingers tightly upon the waist in front, and stooping forward a little; then, while straightening up, fill the lungs slowly, taking in the breath through the nostrils, until every air cell is filled. Retain the breath a short time, and as slowly exhale it. This may be repeated several times. While retaining the breath, it is a good practice to pat the chest, waist, and sides, by a quick and flexible stroke with the flat of the fingers. If any of the breathing exercises produce dizziness, stop and rest, and then try again. THE SAME WITH AUDIBLE Expulsion. A good variation of the above exercise is to expel the breath audibly, allowing it to impinge on the walls of the throat, or, more particularly, on the rim of the glottis. Practice with different degrees of force. DEEP BREATHING WHILE WALKING may be practiced with great profit in the following manner: With the hands resting on the muscles of the waist, expel the breath while walking, say, five steps; keep the lungs empty during another five; inflate them during five more, and retain the breath while walking another five steps; making one inhalation and one exhalation for every twenty steps. This exercise may be repeated several times daily. Many other calisthenic breathing exercises might be given, but these will be found sufficient. Great importance is attached to emptying the lungs first in all of the foregoing exercises, that the waist muscles may take their proper action in the inhalation. Remember that the muscles at the waist contract in expelling the breath, and expand in taking it in. The breathing organs may be compared to the oldfashioned fire-bellows. The windpipe is the nozzle, the chest, the body of the bellows, and the abdominal and other muscles of the waist, the handles. Now, in working the fire-bellows, you would not take hold of the body, but the handles. So the human bellows should be worked, not by the muscles of the upper chest, but by those of the waist-the handles. If the habit of breathing through the nostrils be not already formed, establish it at once. Nothing is so detrimental to the throat and lungs as habitual breathing through the mouth. The nose is nature's filter. In it the atmosphere is warmed, and the dust and other impurities strained from the air in its passage to the lungs, thus preventing many throat and lung troubles. Professor Tyndall says that if he could leave the world a legacy, he would embody it in the words, "Keep your mouth shut." Catlin, the great English physiologist, says, "Shut your mouth and save your life." If you find that you sleep with your mouth open, practice closing it tightly upon retiring, and keep it closed as long as consciousness remains. This will soon break up one of the worst habits of which you can be guilty. ELOCUTIONARY BREATHINGS. In speech the breath is utilized in its passage from the lungs. However important the correct inhalation of the breath may be in elocution, its exhalation is of still greater concern, as quality and control of voice depend most largely upon the manner in which the breath is managed in its passage from the lungs. Particular attention should therefore be given to the following exercises. There are three ways of letting out the breath in speech-the effusive, the expulsive, and the explosive. EFFUSIVE BREATHING. Inflate the lungs as directed in the calisthenic breathing exercises. Then, with the hands on the hips and fingers pressing gently on the muscles of the waist at the sides in front, and with mouth well but gently opened, slowly let out the breath, as soft and as long as possible, making such sound as is heard in a seashell held to the ear. When this sound flows out smoothly, it shows that the student has full control of the breathing. But if the breath be rough or jerky, careful and continued practice will be necessary to correct the fault. Vary the exercise by intoning o on the notes of the musical scale, as soft, smooth, and long as possible. This is good practice for the development of purity of tone. EXPULSIVE BREATHING.-Inflate the lungs, then by a forcible but steady contraction of the abdominal muscles, shove out the breath, giving the sound of the aspirate h. Practice this several times, but discontinue if it makes you dizzy. Vary the exercise by giving "who," in a forcible whisper (taking breath after each word), thus: who, who, who. Then whisper the first two, and voice the last thus: who, who, who. Next whisper the first and speak the last two thus : who, who, who. Lastly speak all three with the same action as that used in giving the whisper : who, who, who. Do not try to give the words in a pure tone of voice; let them be "breathy." It is not a vocal, but a breathing exercise. Next give the long vowels i and o each several times, in a full, resonant, and affirmative tone. As an application of Expulsive Breathing in speech, practice the following sentence with the same resonance and fullness of voice with which the vowels were given. "Rise, fathers, RISE! 'tis ROME demands your help." |