,,the ,,boy',s ,,voice4 ,illustration3 ,,chorister ,,boys4 ,photographed by ,mr ,george ,hadley1 ,lincoln4 ,,the ,,boy',s ,,voice ,a ,,book ,,of ,,practical ,,information ,,on ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,boys' ,,voices ,,for ,,church ,,choirs1 c4 ,,by ,j4 ,,spencer ,,curwen ,fellow of the ,royal ,academy of ,music2 ,president of the ,tonic ,sol-fa ,college4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,london3 ,j ,,curwen ,,sons1 #h #i ,,warwick ,,lane1 ,e4,c4 ,,new ,,york3 ,,charles ,,scribner ,,and ,,sons4 ,price ,two ,shillings and ,sixpence4 #ahia ,,london3 ,j4 ,,curwen ,,and ,,sons1 ,,music-,,printers1 ,,plaistow1 ,e4 ,,preface4 ,the value of this little book1 as the reader will soon discover1 depends less upon my own work than upon the large number of choirmasters whose experience ,i have been fortunate enough1 directly or indirectly1 to lay under contribution4 ,the conditions of the choir-trainer's work vary1 in an endless way1 according to his surroundings and opportunities4 ,and it is just when work becomes difficult that contrivances and hints are most fruitfully evolved4 ,hence ,i have given in great detail the experiences of many correspondents1 and some of the most useful suggestions for ordinary church choir work will be found to proceed from writers holding no great appointment1 but seeking quietly and unostentatiously to produce good results from poor material4 ,in view of a second edition1 ,i shall be pleased to receive letters from readers who have further experiences to offer4 ,j4 ,s4 ,c4 ,june1 #ahia4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,pages ,the ,healthfulness of ,singing #a-e ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,management of the ,breath #f-g ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,the ,art of ,managing ,choir ,boys #h-aa ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,voice ,training #ab-bb ,,chapter ,v4 ,information on ,voice-,training1 collected by the ,salisbury ,diocesan ,choral ,association #bc-bf ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,pronunciation in ,singing #bg-bh ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,singing by ,ear and by ,note #bi-cj ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,flattening1 and ,singing out of ,tune #ca-ci ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,on the ,training of ,boys' ,voices #dj-dh ,,chapter ,x4 ,the ,special ,difficulties of ,agricultural ,districts #di-eh ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,notes on the ,practice of various ,choirmasters in ,cathedrals1 c4 #ei-fh ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,notes on the ,practice of various ,choirmasters in ,parish ,churches #fi-gd ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,alto ,boys #ge-hi ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,schools for ,choristers #ij-ih ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,concert ,songs for ,boys #ii-ajc ,illustration3 ,,the ,,boy',s ,,voice4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,healthfulness ,,of ,,singing4 ,the boy's voice1 though an immature organ of delicate structure1 is capable of much work1 providing only that its mechanism be rightly used and not forced4 ,some people are unnecessarily nervous about boys2 as a rule1 under competent guidance1 they will get nothing but good from vocal work4 ,a cathedral organist wrote to me the other day3-- ,our best solo boy1 who has a splendid voice and who sings beautifully1 has been unwell1 and the ,dean and ,chapter doctor 7who has an idea that every choir-boy should be as robust as a plough-boy7 has just stated that the boy is too feeble to remain in the choir4 ,notwithstanding my remonstrances1 the ,dean and ,chapter decided yesterday to uphold the doctor4 ,i tried his voice last week1 and he sang with full1 rich tone up to the ,c above the stave1 and that after he had been skating from #i a4m4 to #e p4m4 ,i should have thought that a boy who could skate all day could not be in such a 'feeble' state as represented by the medical man4 ,three months ago a boy with a beautiful voice was sent away for the same reason4 ,so you see what uphill work it is for me4 ,it is to be hoped that fastidiousness of this sort is not common4 ,the abuse of the voice may lead1 of course1 to serious results4 ,in the ,new ,york ,medical ,record of ,march #ba1 #ahhe1 p4 #cag1 there is a case recorded of the bursting of a blood vessel through too energetic singing1 but this is altogether abnormal1 and beyond the scope of our enquiry4 ,the voice1 properly used1 will last as long as any other organ1 and it benefits by exercise4 ,mr4 ,d4 ,w4 ,rootham of ,bristol1 who now at middle age has a strong constitution and a fine baritone voice1 tells me that as a boy at ,cambridge he sang for seven years at five services every ,sunday4 ,the thing seems incredible1 and it is an extreme case1 though it shows what work the voice1 properly managed1 will do4 ,singing1 it should be remembered1 promotes health4 ,it does so indirectly by causing cheerfulness1 a genial flow of spirits1 and the soothing of the nerves4 ,it does so directly by increasing the action of the lungs4 ,so far as these organs are concerned1 singing is a more energetic form of speech4 ,as we sing we breathe deeply1 bring more air into contact with the lungs1 and thus vitalise and purify the blood1 giving stimulus to the faculties of digestion and nutrition4 ,a physiologist1 in fact1 can trace the effects of singing from the lungs into the blood1 from the blood into the processes of nutrition1 back again into the blood1 into the nerves1 and finally into the brain1 which of all organs is most dependent upon healthful and well-oxygenated blood4 ,dr4 ,martin 7organist of ,st4 ,paul's ,cathedral7 has had many years' experience in training choir-boys1 and he tells me that he has never known a boy to injure his voice1 or lose it through singing4 ,it is a question of method2 if the voice be used properly it will stand any amount of work4 ,he has seen boys disposed to consumption improve in health after joining the choir4 ,the medical man who declared that if there were more singing there would be less coughing1 expressed in a graphic way the healthful influence of vocal practice4 ,parents and guardians need never hesitate to allow their sons and charges to become choir-boys under proper choirmasters4 ,they may be sure that nothing but good can come of the exercise4 ,two cautions only are needed4 ,the first is1 not to sing during a cold4 ,when a slight inflammation has attacked the larynx--that is1 when a cold has been taken--the vocal cords are thickened1 and the act of vocalisation causes them to rub together1 which increases the inflammation4 ,if the cold is a bad one--that is1 if the inflammation is great--the singer will be compelled to rest1 because the congestive swelling of the vocal cords will be so great that they will be unable to vibrate sufficiently to produce tone4 ,but whether slight or great1 the cold demands rest4 ,otherwise permanent injury may be done to the voice4 ,the second caution relates to the preservation1 not of the boy's voice1 but of the man's4 ,there is no doubt that it is undesirable for a boy to continue to sing after his voice has shown signs of breaking4 ,what are the first signs of this change8 ,choirmasters notice that the middle register becomes weak1 without any diminution in the power and quality of the upper notes1 but that at the same time the thick register grows stronger1 and the boy can strike middle ,c with firmness4 ,the striking of middle ,c1 says ,mr4 ,g4 ,bernard ,gilbert1 is usually sufficient to decide the point4 ,the tradition of teachers is in favour of rest at this time1 and a well-founded public impression counts for a good deal4 ,the fact is that during the time of change not only do the vocal cords lengthen1 but they are congested4 ,an inflammatory action1 like that which takes place during a cold1 is set up4 ,hence rest is desirable4 ,nature herself also counsels rest because she reduces the musical value of the voice at this time to a low ebb4 ,it becomes husky and of uncertain intonation4 ,no doubt cases can be quoted of boys who have sung on uninterruptedly and developed into good tenors or basses1 but there are cases equally strong in which the man's voice has completely failed after such a course4 ,sir ,morell ,mackenzie is the only medical writer who has advocated singing during change of voice1 but not even his authority can upset the weight of evidence on the other side4 ,nevertheless1 on the principle of hear both sides ,i quote the following from a letter by ,mr4 ,e4 ,h4 ,saxton1 choirmaster of ,st4 ,james's church1 at ,buxton3-- ,upon the question of resting completely from singing during the period of change of voice1 ,i hold that one must be guided by the circumstances of each individual case4 ,i carefully watch each boy when ,i am expecting the change to commence1 and it usually shows itself by the upper thin register giving way4 ,if ,i cannot immediately spare the boy from the treble part 7and good leading boys are not plentiful71 ,i caution him to leave high notes alone1 never to force them1 and as soon as possible ,i relegate him to the alto part1 where he often remains useful to me for a year or eighteen months4 ,all the time he is singing the alto part ,i keep watch over him1 and forbid his singing as soon as there are indications that the effort is in the slightest degree painful4 ,generally ,i find this prohibition to be only necessary for notes above ,illustration3 middle f ,should a vacancy occur in the senior choir 7if the boy shows signs of his voice developing to either tenor or bass7 ,i get him passed from the junior to the senior choir1 warning him1 however1 to be very careful of his high notes1 and never to force them4 ,my general experience leads me to the conclusion that it is a most arbitrary and unnecessary rule to lay down that every boy should rest at this time4 ,in some cases it is necessary1 no doubt1 but my opinion is1 after twenty years' practical experience1 that in a large number of cases it is cruel1 and about as much use with regard to the after-development of the voice as it would be to prohibit speaking4 ,speaking practically--not scientifically--,i hold that the vocal organ is beneficially exercised when singing is allowed in moderation1 and within the restricted limits which every choirmaster ought to know how to apply4 ,i have experienced boys who have never rested developing good voices1 as well as those who have rested4 ,but ,i have no experience of boys who have never rested developing bad voices1 though ,i have of those who did rest4 ,i have three boys in one family in my mind now1 one of whom had a good alto1 the other two good soprano voices4 ,the alto and one soprano never rested1 and developed respectively a good tenor and bass4 ,the other rested 7through removal to another town71 and developed a very indifferent bass4 ,in spite of this weighty and well-argued statement1 my own opinion is that the preponderance of evidence is in favour of rest4 ,it is certainly a new physiological doctrine for a short period of rest to injure or prevent the development of any organ4 ,in short1 ,i cannot see how there can be any disadvantage in a few months' rest1 while from the other point of view there can be no musical advantage in the use of an unmusical instrument4 ,as soon as the man's voice shows signs of settlement its practice should gently begin4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,management ,,of ,,the ,,breath4 ,breathing in singing is a matter of the utmost importance4 ,the breath is the motive power1 the primary force1 to which the larynx and the resonance chamber are but secondary4 ,in speech we can manage with short breathing and half-filled lungs1 but in sustaining the sounds of song1 we need to breathe deeply1 and to breathe in a right way4 ,manifestly the act of breathing consists of two parts--7#a7 the drawing in1 and 7#b7 the letting out of the breath4 ,when we speak of modes of breathing1 however1 we refer to the drawing in of the breath4 ,there are three ways of doing this4 ,first1 by lowering the diaphragm1 and thus compelling the lungs to enlarge and fill the vacant space created4 ,second1 by extending the ribs sideways1 causing the lungs to expand laterally4 ,third1 by drawing up the collar-bone and shoulder blades1 causing the upper part of the lungs to expand4 ,the third method is bad2 the ideal breathing is a combination of the first and second4 ,upon this athletes as well as singers are agreed4 ,this is the breathing which we practise unconsciously in sleep1 or in taking a long sniff at a flower4 ,the musical results of bad breathing are flattening and a hurrying of the time2 hence the importance of the matter4 ,practice may well begin with a few minutes devoted to breathing exercises4 ,let the boys inhale a long breath through the nose2 hold it for a time1 and then slowly exhale4 ,again let them slowly inhale1 hold1 and exhale quickly1 allowing the sides of the chest to collapse4 ,again1 let them1 while holding the breath1 press it from the lower to the middle1 and to the upper part of the chest1 and vice versa4 ,during this exercise the body should be in the position of stand at ease4 ,the spirometer1 a useful but rather expensive little instrument1 measures accurately lung capacity4 ,these breathing exercises may be followed by practice in holding a single tone for a period just short of exhaustion4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,managing ,,choir ,,boys4 ,to some choirmasters the management of their boys is a perfectly easy matter2 to others it is a constant source of trouble4 ,everything depends upon knack4 ,max ,o',rell has some wise maxims on the subject which it may be well to quote4 ,face the boys1 he says1 or you will be nowhere4 ,always be lively4 ,never show your temper3 to let the boys see that they can ruffle you is to give them a victory4 ,allow no chatting4 ,never over-praise clever boys2 never snub dull ones4 ,never expect any thanks4 ,if a boy laughs at a mistake made by another boy1 ask him for the answer immediately1 and he will be dumb4 ,if you do not love boys1 never become a choir school master4 ,discipline is preserved by giving the boys seats in the same relative position at rehearsal and in church4 ,there should be a double row of desks in the practice room1 provided with a shelf for books1 just as in the stalls4 ,if the boys have to hold the books and music in their hands they stoop1 and the singing suffers4 ,each boy should have a copy of the music1 and it should bear his number1 so that he is personally responsible for its good keeping4 ,punctuality at rehearsal is important4 ,let the choirmaster call for order at the exact time1 and let the roll be gone over at once4 ,to be unpunctual1 or not to register early attendance1 is to encourage laxity4 ,there is no doubt that the long services in many churches are trying to the choir boys4 ,in some churches the morning service lasts two hours and a quarter4 ,it is very hard even for an adult to keep his thoughts from wandering1 and his eyes from glancing over the congregation during all this time4 ,how much more hard is it1 then1 for a boy who is by nature a fidget1 and if healthy1 brimming over with activity8 ,nevertheless boys can be trained1 if not to control their thoughts1 at least to an outward reverence and quietude in harmony with the service4 ,reproof1 if it is needed1 is best administered in private4 ,boys should be paid1 if only a small sum2 this gives the choirmaster a hold upon them1 and enables him to impose fines1 if necessary4 ,payment can be increased for those who take ,tonic ,sol-fa or other sight-singing certificates1 which of course increase their value as choristers4 ,let it be noted that the voices will carry further if the boys hold up their heads4 ,this caution is especially needed when they are singing in the kneeling posture4 ,all that can be done to interest the boys in their work by encouraging the social feeling1 will be to the advantage of the choir4 ,their hearts are easily won4 ,an excursion1 an evening party once a year are great attractions4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,b4 ,roney1 of ,chicago1 advocates a choir guild1 and in the choir-room he would have a library1 games1 puzzles1 footballs1 bats and balls1 ,indian clubs1 and dumb-bells4 ,he would open and warm the choir-room an hour before each service and rehearsal4 ,to some extent he would let the youngsters govern themselves1 and says that the gravity with which they will appoint a judge1 a jury1 sheriff1 prisoner1 and witnesses to try a case of infraction of the choir rules1 would bring a smile to the face of a graven image4 ,prizes at ,christmas are part of his scheme2 these should be awarded for such points as punctuality1 progress in music1 reverential demeanour1 and general excellence4 ,according to ,mr4 ,sergison1 organist of ,st4 ,peter's1 ,eaton ,square1 ,london1 the choirmaster will have power if he make himself beloved4 ,he should enter into the boys' way of looking at things1 and remember that they have deep feelings4 ,the boys should be arranged in classes1 each higher class having higher pay1 with sundry little privileges4 ,mr4 ,sergison says that by putting the boys upon their honour1 and treating them well1 he has always maintained strict discipline1 and has never yet had to resort to corporal punishment4 ,the ,rev4 ,e4 ,husband1 of ,folkestone1 who is an enthusiastic choir-trainer1 is strongly of opinion that for vocal purposes working-class boys are better than the sons of gentlemen4 ,he finds that boys of a lower class have richer and fuller voices than those above them in the social scale4 ,i was myself present1 not long since1 at a concert at ,eton ,college1 and although ,i was greatly struck with the purity of the tone1 its volume was thin and somewhat shallow4 ,one reason why working-class boys excel1 probably1 is that plain food and outdoor life keep the body in the best condition1 so that the children of the poor1 so long as they are well-nourished1 are healthier than the children of the rich4 ,but the working-class boys have also this advantage1 that they begin life at four years of age in an ,infant ,school1 where they sing every day1 and receive systematic ,tonic ,sol-fa teaching which is continued when they pass into the boys' department4 ,boys who are trained under governesses and at private preparatory schools often learn no singing at all4 ,it is to be hoped that the diffusion of musical knowledge will make these class-comparisons1 from a musical point of view1 unnecessary4 ,the choir-boys of ,christ ,church1 ,oxford1 are all the sons of professional men1 but then the choice is a wide one1 as they come from all parts of the country4 ,the precentor of a cathedral writes to me on an important branch of our subject4 ,i sincerely hope that his picture is not one that is generally true3-- ,my own experience would suggest that in connection with the training of cathedral choristers the attention of cathedral organists might be very advantageously drawn to the very great importance of efficiency in the art of teaching--of imparting knowledge4 ,the instruction given may be as good as could well be desired1 but the manner of imparting it just as bad--such as would be condemned in any well-conducted ,public ,elementary ,school4 ,uncontrolled temper1 the cane1 boxing of the ears1 are matters which go far to prove a teacher very seriously incompetent as a teacher4 ,a cathedral organist is specially exposed to the temptation to hastiness and harshness1 owing to the power he possesses4 ,a parent values the position of a chorister for his son1 and the organist is tempted soon to take advantage of the parent's unwillingness to withdraw his son4 ,in a parish choir1 either voluntary or paid at a very low rate1 the exhibition of bad temper or discourtesy in manner is quickly followed1 in all probability1 by the loss of the offended chorister4 ,offensive manners on the part of the trainer quickly endanger the existence of the choir4 ,not so in cathedrals1 and the cathedral organist knows this4 ',i cannot think why that boy does not sing in tune2 ,i have boxed his ears2' said a cathedral organist once to me quite seriously4 ,this proves1 ,i think1 how blind even a highly-trained musician may be to the need for any art in the mode of imparting instruction4 ,i fear there is a vulgar notion 7only half defined1 most probably7 that irascibility in the musical trainer is a mark of genius4 ,i write from experience1 having been upwards of a quarter of a century in cathedrals1 and a considerable portion of that time precentor4 ,in conclusion1 the custom of throwing a halo of sentiment round choir-boys1 and petting them1 is much to be deprecated4 ,it has become the custom to write tales and songs about them1 in which they are made out to be little angels in disguise4 ,all this is very foolish and harmful4 ,choir-boys1 as a rule1 are no better and no worse than other boys4 ,they respond well to wise treatment1 but need to be governed by common sense1 and to be taught their places4 ,i am myself somewhat to blame for illustrating this book with two pictures of choir boys4 ,it is really inconsistent4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,voice ,,training4 ,c#b ,b#a ,small ,a#a ,g#a ,f#a ,upper ,thin4 ,e#a ,d#a ,c#a ,lower ,thin4 ,b ,a ,g ,f ,upper ,thick4 ,e ,d ,c ,lower ,thick4 ,b#a ,a#a ,g#a ,before commencing to train a voice the choirmaster must make sure that it is a voice worth training4 ,he must take the boy alone1 test his voice by singing scales1 and try especially his notes in the treble compass1 say1 ,illustration3 musical notation ,he must test his ear by playing phrases1 and asking the boy to sing them4 ,he must enquire into his theoretical knowledge1 if any1 and ask if he has had a ,tonic ,sol-fa or any other systematic training4 ,the ear of the choirmaster must decide upon the voice4 ,it is said by some that boys' voices partake of one or other of two qualities1 the flute quality or the oboe quality4 ,they differ1 no doubt1 in timbre1 but these two divisions are not clearly marked4 ,the diagram at the side gives the compass of the registers in boy trebles and altos4 ,the names are those invented by the late ,john ,curwen1 and have the advantage of describing the physiological action that goes on4 ,thus in the ,thick ,register1 the vocal cords vibrate in their whole thickness2 in the ,thin ,register their thin edges alone vibrate2 and in the ,small ,register a small aperture only is made1 through which the sound comes4 ,the registers are practically the same as those of women's voices4 ,they may be shown on the staff1 thus3-- ,illustration3 ,lower ,thick4 ,upper ,thick4 ,lower ,thin4 ,upper ,thin4 ,small4 ,chest4 ,middle4 ,falsetto4 ,i give below the staff another set of names which are sometimes used1 but different voice-trainers attach to these different meanings4 ,it is undesirable to tell the boys anything about the registers4 ,the spirit of voice-training at the present time is too analytical4 ,the theory of the registers is for the teacher1 not for the pupil4 ,some voice-trainers seem to think that it is their business to discover the registers1 but as far as tone goes it is their business to conceal them4 ,trainers work better through possessing physiological knowledge1 but the end is a smooth and homogeneous voice1 blended and well-built4 ,roughly speaking1 the boys to be rejected are those who through carelessness1 excitement1 or confirmed habit1 force up the thick register while singing4 ,and those to be accepted are the boys who have sufficient reserve and care to turn into the fluty tone at the proper place1 whether the music be loud or soft1 and whatever be the shape of the melodic passage4 ,the right use of the voice is most likely to come from boys who1 whatever their social status1 are well brought up1 and have been taught to avoid screaming1 coarse laughing and bawling1 and if possible to speak in a clear way4 ,voice studies are of two kinds4 ,first come those which promote the building and setting of the voice4 ,these are generally sung slowly4 ,when the voice is becoming settled exercises for agility may be introduced4 ,of agility exercises most voice-training books contain plenty4 ,there is a good selection in ,mr4 ,sinclair ,dunn's ,the ,solo ,singer's ,vade ,mecum 7,j4 ,curwen ,sons1 price #as47 and ,sir ,john ,stainer has written a set1 printed on a card1 which is published by ,mowbray1 ,oxford and ,london1 price #f;d4 ,when the system of probationers is at work the voice-building exercises will not be much needed4 ,the little boys will insensibly fall into right habits4 ,they will learn to produce tone as they learnt to speak--by ear4 ,but when a new choir has to be formed1 the building exercises are necessary4 ,and the first object of these is to make the boy feel the thin register and strengthen it by use4 ,for this purpose such phrases as these1 which leap into the thin register1 and quit it by step are the best3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,eb4 d#a t l s d#a t l s m#a r#a d#a t d#a ,illustration3 ,,key ,g4 s f m r f m r d l s f s m ,these exercises should be sung to several vowels1 but especially to the sound koo1 which will at first immensely amuse the boys1 but will afterwards be found to throw the tone forward towards the teeth in a way that no other sound does4 ,pure vowel tone goes with pure and resonant voice4 ,the broad and pure vowels of the ,yorkshire dialect have1 more than anything else1 produced the ,yorkshire voices4 ,hence the choirmaster must make a determined effort to cure provincialisms in so far as they prevent the issue of pure vowel sounds from the mouth4 ,the vowels should be sung in their vocal order as recommended by ,mr4 ,behnke1 oo 7as in you71 o 7as in owe71 ah 7as in ,shah71 a 7as pay71 and ee 7as in see74 ,these may be taken to slow scales1 thus3-- ,illustration3 oo-o-ah-a-ee oo-o-ah-a-ee1 c4 ,let the choirmaster watch carefully for impure sounds1 and call upon each boy to sing two measures by himself from time to time4 ,in singing the boy should stand upright and free4 ,he must not lean or bend his body4 ,the mouth must be fairly opened1 but not too wide4 ,as the voice ascends the mouth opens wider4 ,the lips must lie lightly on the teeth1 and the tongue should lie at rest1 just touching the front teeth4 ,if1 for the sake of change during a long rehearsal1 the boys sit1 let it be remembered that there are many ways of sitting1 and that the upright posture hinders the breath less than lolling and a crooked posture4 ,rigidity is the enemy of all good singing4 ,let the whole body and vocal apparatus be relaxed1 and pure tone will result4 ,if ,i hear a boy forcing up his voice1 said ,herr ,eglinger1 of ,basel1 to me1 ,i ask the rest of the class to point him out1 and they do it at once4 ,this at once cures the transgressor and sharpens the consciences of the other boys4 ,as to the vowel on which singers should be trained1 there are differences of opinion4 ,maurice ,strakosch1 the trainer of ,patti1 ,nilsson1 c41 used ha1 which causes a slight breath to precede the articulation4 ,this1 he said1 gives the voice a natural start4 ,it is something like the koo of ,mrs4 ,seiler4 ,learners he required to lower their heads while singing1 and to show the upper teeth1 so as to keep the lips out of the way of the tone4 ,mr4 ,barnicott1 a successful choirmaster at ,taunton1 uses ka4 ,but as in the actual singing of the ,english language all the vowels are encountered in turn1 it would seem reasonable that they should all be included in the practice4 ,mr4 ,walter ,brooks1 quoted elsewhere1 lays stress upon long-sustained notes in the scale of ,e flat1 and up to ,g4 ,these expand the lower part of the lungs1 and produce steady1 firm tone4 ,they should be sung both loud and soft1 the boys one by one and together4 ,an admirable plan is to keep boys on the alert listening for faults1 asking those not singing1 ,whose fault is that8 ,jealousy and conceit1 says ,mr4 ,brooks1 are avoided by giving a solo to three or four boys to sing in unison4 ,three or four will blend better than two1 and after proper rehearsal the tone is so like one voice that people say1 ,what a beautiful voice that boy has6 ,as to balance of parts1 the following table is given by ,mr4 ,h4 ,b4 ,roney of ,chicago3-- ,sopranos #ab #ag #be #cg #ej ,altos #d #e #g #aa #ad ,tenors #d #e #h #aa #ad ,basses #e #h #aj #af #bb -- -- -- -- -- #be #ce #ej #ge #ajj ,mr4 ,stocks ,hammond says that during voice exercise the boys should stand perfectly erect1 with mouth well open1 the shoulders being thrown back4 ,after exercise in slowly inhaling and exhaling the breath1 comes the uniting of the registers4 ,this is accomplished by singing up and down the scales of ,c1 ,d1 and ,e to the syllable ah4 ,each tone is taken with decision1 and is followed by a slight pause4 ,the same scales are afterwards sung to oh and oo4 ,this exercise should not last longer that ten or fifteen minutes4 ,staccato scales to ah6 oh6 and chromatic passages are introduced later4 ,mr4 ,g4 ,bernard ,gilbert1 ,f4,c4,o41 of ,west ,ham ,parish ,church1 is an exceptionally skilled trainer of boys' voices4 ,he meets his boys half-an-hour before each of the ,sunday ,services and tunes them up1 an admirable plan1 which cannot be too widely imitated4 ,the first thing he does in training boys is to teach them to attack and leave sounds with precision1 neatness1 and proper register or quality of voice4 ,he gives chief attention to the sounds between ,illustration3 here the author expresses a range from the ,f above middle-,c 7or ,f#d7 to the ,c above middle-,c 7,c#e7 by inserting a staff and first practises them4 ,if beauty of tone is to be obtained1 it is of the utmost importance that these sounds should be given in the thin register4 ,mr4 ,gilbert has cultivated this register in his own voice1 and is able to give the boys a pattern in the right octave1 which he thinks of great use4 ,the change from upper thick to lower thin takes place between ,e and ,f4 ,the boys should intone in the thin register4 ,flattening while intoning is almost entirely due to boys using the thick register4 ,mr4 ,gilbert uses the vowels as arranged by ,mr4 ,behnke1 oo-o-ah-ai-ee1 practised first with a slight breath between each1 afterwards all in one breath1 piano and staccato4 ,consonants preceding these vowels are of little value1 as they only disguise a wrong action of the glottis1 without removing the fault4 ,he uses also sustained sounds1 and short major or minor arpeggi1 and last of all scale passages4 ,if due attention be given to the intonation of the arpeggio1 the scale should not be1 as it too often is1 all out of tune4 ,the arpeggio is its skeleton or framework4 ,mr4 ,gilbert alternates this work with the singing of intervals and the practice of time rhythms4 ,he attaches great value to the vowel e in practising sustained notes1 scales or arpeggi1 though other vowels must receive due attention4 ,e has the advantage of bringing the vocal cords very close to together1 thereby effecting a greater economy of the breath than is possible with the other vowels4 ,he has constantly succeeded in making boys produce a pure and beautiful tone to this vowel1 especially in that part of the voice called the upper thin1 when he could not do so with the others4 ,of course e can be sung badly1 and boys will sometimes make a nasal squeak of it1 but the correct placing of the tone is quickly learnt if the teeth are kept nicely apart4 ,mr4 ,gilbert teaches the boys when very young the mechanism which governs their voices above ,illustration3 high f ,this is the small register4 ,he is careful also about pronunciation1 recommends that boys should be paid1 and that bad behaviour1 laziness1 or irregularity1 if they occur1 should be punished by fines4 ,one of the most marked excellences of ,mr4 ,gilbert's choir is its chanting1 and the elocutional phrasing of the words of the hymns4 ,the rigidity of the time is often broken with impressive effect in order1 by an elocutional pause1 to throw into relief a prominent word or idea4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,t4 ,h4 ,collinson1 ,mus4,b41 organist of ,st4 ,mary's ,cathedral1 ,edinburgh1 has given me some interesting particulars of the training which his excellent boys undergo4 ,the process of selection is as follows3--7#a7 ,advertisement4 7#b7 ,trial of voice1 and entry of particulars of school1 school standard1 father's occupation1 c4 7#c7 ,choice of most promising voices4 7#d7 ,inspection of homes1 as to overcrowding1 c4 7#e7 ,appointment of probationers4 7#f7 ,full appointment1 with religious service of admission by the ,dean4 ,the parents engage in writing to retain the child in the choir school until his voice changes1 or to the average age of fourteen4 ,the boys are taken at all ages from #i to #ab-a_/b4 ,cultivation of tone1 blending of registers1 and accuracy of pitch are specially studied1 the principal means being as follows3--7#a7 ,mouth-opening 7silently74 7#b7 ,breathing exercise4 7#c7 ,sustained notes piano1 each to full length of breath4 7#d7 ,piano scales4 7#e7 ,simple flexibility exercises1 e4g41 ,sir ,j4 ,stainer's card of exercises1 published by ,mowbray4 7#f7 ,crescendo and ,diminuendo4 7#g7 ,behnke's resonance vowels1 oo-o-ah4 7#h7 ,behnke's glottis-stroke exercises1 oo-o-ah-ai-ee4 7#i7 ,no accompaniment1 except a single note on the pianoforte every three or four bars to test pitch4 ,where badly flat1 a scolding1 and going back to try over again4 7#aj7 ,at early morning practice no forte singing is allowed1 as a rule4 ,by the above means1 especially sustained notes and piano scales1 flatness is easily avoided1 and the registers blend perfectly4 ,a curious local peculiarity has to be specially treated in the junior boys4 ,the ,scottish 'u' as in 'gude' 7good71 'puir' 7poor71 'n' 7new71 is identical with the ,french 'u' in 'tu' or ',hugo1' and the little fellows sing an amusing exercise like the following3-- ,you should do two1 on every note of the scale1 with special care to protrude the lips to a round whistling shape for the 'oo4' ,very oddly they sing a good 'oo' in the falsetto register1 and a certain solo boy used to sing ,handel's ',how beautiful are the feet' in its first two phrases in alternate ,scotch and ,english1 the vinegary '' in the first 7low7 phrase1 and a fine round 'oo' in the higher phrase1 where 'beautiful' begins on ,e flat4 ,raw candidates and ill-taught children generally come minus any register at all above ,illustration3 high d and grin with surprise on being taught to produce sweet upper notes by open-mouth piano 'ah4' ,colds and petty hoarseness1 interfering with the upper notes1 are terribly common in this climate in the class of boys obtained for the choir4 ,a successful soloist at ,friday rehearsal may be found incompetent by ,sunday1 so that all solo work is carefully understudied4 ,a few minutes each day suffice for the purely technical voice exercises4 ,the services are many in number2 three on ,sunday1 two on week-days1 and occasional extra services at special seasons4 ,the number of boys is kept up to say #cj1 and they are worked in divisions to minimise their duties4 ,the boys are educated free1 and seniors receive payment4 ',i think that boys' voices are much like unto boys' legs--they need daily exercise if they are to be worth anything4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,r4 ,h4 ,saxton1 of ,buxton1 writes3--,my choir boys are almost exclusively drawn from the working class1 and the majority of them use the thick register for the speaking voice4 ,i take them at nine years of age1 sometimes younger if they can read fairly well1 and my first effort is to suppress the thick register altogether in singing4 ,if they were encouraged to use it they would most certainly abuse it by carrying it far beyond its proper range4 ,soft singing is the only effective plan ,i know of for removing the tendency to use the thick register4 ,this ,i insist on in modulator voluntaries and time exercises4 ,the time exercises are always laa'd on or above ,illustration3 middle ,a4 ,in modulator work ,i at first avoid beginning in the lower keys where the thick register would naturally be used4 ,by thus constantly cultivating the thin register1 never allowing faulty intonation to pass unnoticed1 and always checking the natural tendency of boys to sing coarsely2 together with a free use of ear exercises1 in which they are taught to recognise tones by their mental effect1 ,i succeed at last in getting fairly good tone4 ,it is1 however1 a work of time and difficulty1 on account of the daily surroundings of the boys1 and the habitually coarse way in which they are allowed to sing in school4 ,to avoid flattening1 ,i believe the course ,i have indicated to be the best remedy1 as eye1 ear1 and voice are cultivated simultaneously4 ,in training the thin register special care must be taken that the ,upper ,thin is brought out at ,illustration3 high d and it is often better that the ,c also should be taken in the ,upper ,thin4 ,a strained ,lower ,thin on ,c sharp or ,d will be sure to induce flattening1 while if the ,upper ,thin is properly used there is no difficulty whatever in using the high ,d and ,e within reasonable limits as the reciting note in chanting4 ,when the music moves about stepwise in close proximity above and below the breaks1 we have another cause of flattening4 ,as most of our country choirs consist at the best of but partly-trained voices1 composers and choirmasters should bear this in mind4 ,it must not be supposed that boys are the sole cause of flattening4 ,far from it1 they are too often the victims of an untuneful tenor or bass4 ,from the first moment a boy comes under my care he is encouraged to take the ,tonic ,sol-fa certificates1 and few leave the choir without having passed the ,intermediate4 ,i am of course now speaking of those boys who remain with us till they are no longer of use as boys4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i append an extract from a letter by ,mr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,e4 ,taylor1 master of the ,boys' ,national ,school at ,penzance1 and choirmaster of ,st4 ,mary's ,church1 which is interesting as showing the extent to which singing by ear can be carried3-- ,the children here1 as in most ,cornish towns1 are fond of music1 and have a quick ear4 ,i pick my boys from a school of nearly #djj4 ,i choose them by the way they read in school4 ,they are generally of ,standard ,v41 and between ten and eleven years of age4 ,if younger the ,psalms puzzle them4 ,i try a new boy's voice at the choir practice4 ,if he has a sweet tone1 and can reach ,f sharp1 however faintly1 ,i accept him1 and keep him on probation at the practices4 ,about half-a-dozen are so kept1 and the best lad fills any vacancy occurring in the choir4 ,i have no trouble as regards discipline1 as a fine1 or the knowledge that their places can be instantly filled by the probationers1 keeps the choristers well in their places4 ,at the choir practices ,i begin with running up and down the scales with their voices together1 beginning soft1 and allowing the voices to increase as the scales ascend1 and diminish on descending1 but holding on to the top-most notes whilst ,i play a chord or two on it4 ,then with a nod of my head they descend4 ,at times one note is given them on which to cres4 and dim41 for breathing exercise4 ,not one lad knows his notes except as to their rise and fall and values4 ,they depend on their ear entirely1 even in the most difficult fugues4 ,at this church anthems and settings of the ,canticles are sung every ,sunday evening4 ,the men are voluntary2 the head boys get from #cjs4 to #djs4 a year1 the solo boys receiving #c;d4 or #f;d4 as an encouragement after rendering a solo or verse part4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in spite of all that can be written on the subject of voice-training1 the art is one most difficult to communicate4 ,some teachers succeed2 others fail4 ,a remarkable instance of this came under my notice lately4 ,the headmaster of a school asked me to pay his boys a visit in order1 if possible1 to discover the reason of the great falling-off in their singing4 ,his previous singing-teacher had brought the boys to a high pitch of excellence4 ,when he left1 the singing was placed under the charge of an undermaster1 who had for a year or more heard all the singing lessons given by his predecessor1 who used the same voice exercises with the same boys in the same room4 ,surely1 one would have thought the results must be the same4 ,but the singing had deteriorated2 flattening1 and a lifeless manner had overcome the boys4 ,the causes1 so far as ,i could discover1 were first that the new teacher wanted the magnetic1 enthusiastic way of the old1 and second1 that he had not so quick an ear for change of register1 and allowed the lower mechanism of the voice to be forced up higher than its proper limits4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this chapter focuses a large amount of valuable experience1 but amid the many hints which are given1 two ways of securing right tone stand out with marked prominence4 ,they are1 soft singing1 and the downward practice of scales4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,v4 ,,information ,,on ,,voice-,,training1 ,,collected ,,by ,,the ,,salisbury ,,diocesan ,,choral ,,association4 ,i am indebted to the ,rev4 ,w4 ,miles ,barnes1 rector of ,monkton1 ,dorchester1 for the following information1 recently obtained by him on the subject of voice-training4 ,it appears that for the information of choir instructors 7some #bjj in number7 in union with the ,salisbury ,diocesan ,choral ,association1 the advice of precentors and organists of cathedrals was lately sought as to the best way of correcting a very common fault in the singing of country choirs4 ,the following questions were proposed3 7,i47 ,it is a common practice in country choirs for boys and tenors to force the lower register to sing notes which should be taken in the higher or head register4 ,the notes thus forced are harsh and unmusical in tone1 and generally flat in pitch4 ,how would you correct this fault in boys8 7,,ii47 ,what method is employed in ---- ,cathedral for developing and strengthening the higher 7head7 register in boys' voices8 ,the following are extracts from the replies3-- ,rev4 ,f4 ,j4 ,,helmore1 ,precentor of ,canterbury4 ,i should recommend the practice of the first five notes of the scales of ,a1 ,bb1 ,b1 and ,c1 piano1 taken rather slowly1 and then of intervals from ,g to ,d1 ,g to ,eb1 ,g to ,e1 ,a to ,e1 c4 c4 ,after that ,i would try them with the complete scales of ,e1 ,f1 ,f1 and ,g1 fast and forte1 thus3-- ,illustration3 musical notation ,if no improvement is perceptible1 begin again4 ,practice is the main thing1 after a boy has got to understand his faults4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,,mann1 ,m4,a41 ,precentor of ,bristol4 7#a47 ,i think it almost impossible to remedy the evil you complain of after the boys have been accustomed to sing upper notes from the chest for some time--say one or two years4 ,our practice here is to secure boys between the ages of #i and #aa1 before they have been singing elsewhere1 or certainly before they have acquired any faulty tricks of forcing the voice4 7#b47 ,in training boys' voices never allow them to shout4 ,if they commence singing when young they may be taught by scale practice 7always singing quietly7 to bridge over the break which exists between the chest and head voice4 ,this is an art1 and requires experience4 7#c47 ,speaking generally1 ,i should say that judicious scale practice is the remedy likely to be of most service in the case specified1 teaching boys1 by singing quietly1 to glide the chest voice into the upper register4 ,i recommend the syllable la as generally best for the purpose all through the scale4 ,boys should keep their tongues down1 open mouths well1 sing not through teeth1 c4 c4 ,i find that boys acquire the cathedral style of singing 7with the well-known flute or bell-like tone7 chiefly by example4 ,in singing with boys who have already acquired it the younger ones catch the style1 just as birds are taught to sing by trained songsters4 ,the untrained rustic can never naturally produce this tone1 but much may be done by 7#a7 careful scale practice2 7#b7 strict enforcement of a quiet easy style1 and rigid prohibition of shouting1 or forcing the voice2 7#c7 the occasional example of trained singers4 ,rev4 ,c4 ,,hylton ,,stewart1 ,precentor of ,chester4 ,the great thing is not to train boys up through break in the voice1 but down through it1 and so to coach them that the break becomes imperceptible4 ,the top notes ought to be practised very softly until a good round note is procured4 ,this1 however1 can seldom be done out of a cathedral1 as it requires constant attention4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,e4 ,,dickson1 ,precentor of ,ely4 ,in this ,cathedral1 and ,i suppose in every other1 the boys have at least one hour of daily practice under the most favourable circumstances of quiet music-room and good pianoforte1 and an able teacher4 ,the two orderly services follow with the regularity of a clock1 and in these the voices of the boys are balanced and supported by those of adult singers--presumably1 good vocalists4 ,i think you will agree that no practical rules1 available by instructors of village choirs1 can be founded upon arrangements so far beyond their reach4 ,to describe any ,method of developing voices under such circumstances would be quite delusive4 ,a life-long experience in the training of parish choirs would lead me to say that the best approach to true voice production is made when a lady takes charge of the choir1 and has the boys to practise at her own house4 ,to say that all instructors should use unwearied diligence and unfailing patience and kindness in the attempt to get soft singing1 is only to repeat a very trite remark4 ,in schools1 the mistake is often made of singing almost all the exercises in the key of ,c1 and commencing all scales with the syllable ,do4 ,in trying candidates for admission to the choir1 we constantly find that they have been accustomed to a scale of #ac notes only 7one octave7 up and down4 ,the scales should begin on all or any of the notes--,d1 ,b,symbol3 natural1 ,gb1 c41 and the peculiarities of the intervals should be familiarly explained4 ,a pamphlet might be written4 ,but there is no ,royal road4 ,j4 ,m4 ,w4 ,,young1 ,esq41 ,organist of ,lincoln4 ,the precentor has forwarded your note to me4 ,in answer to your question asking how to prevent the trebles in country choirs from forcing the upper notes1 ,i would suggest that when practising the choir1 care should be taken that the trebles are never allowed to sing even the middle notes loud1 only mf1 and they should be frequently practised to sing piano4 ,if this be attended to1 it will1 in a great measure1 prevent the forcing of the voice on the higher notes1 which should never be practised otherwise than softly4 ,country choirs nearly always sing twice as loud as they ought to do1 consequently the tone becomes harsh and grating1 and they invariably sing the upper notes out of tune4 ,i never allow the ,cathedral choristers to practise in a loud tone of voice1 yet their voices are rich and mellow1 and there is never any want of power when it is required4 ,any tendency to force the voice is checked at once4 ,it will be found very useful to practise the trebles with the diatonic scale at a moderately quick pace1 taking care to sing it smoothly and piano throughout1 first to ,,oo1 next to ,oh1 and finally to ,ah4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,pronunciation ,,in ,,singing4 ,it is impossible to emphasise too strongly the importance of clear pronunciation in singing4 ,the ,english1 as a rule1 pronounce indistinctly4 ,we carry on our talk1 says ,mr4 ,h4 ,deacon1 in mere smudges of sound1 a graphic and true way of putting things4 ,the ,scotch1 ,welsh1 and ,americans pronounce better than we do4 ,indistinctness and bad dialect arise1 roughly speaking1 from two sources--impure vowels and omitted consonants4 ,the impure vowels are generally due to local habits of speech1 such as the ,london dialect1 which makes a colourless mixture of all the vowels4 ,in some parts of ,scotland also the vowels are very impure4 ,the voice-training exercises given elsewhere are several of them directed towards the production of good vowel tone1 but the danger is lest the power gained in these should not be applied to the actual words encountered in psalm1 canticle1 anthem1 or hymn4 ,a sentence containing all the vowels may be chanted repeatedly on a monotone1 but after all the best exercise consists in constant watchfulness against mispronunciation in the ordinary weekly practice4 ,man1 according to ,mr4 ,r4 ,g4 ,white1 may be defined as a consonant-using animal4 ,he alone of all animals uses consonants4 ,the cries of animals and of infants are inarticulate4 ,so is the speech of a drunken man1 who descends1 vocally as well as in other ways1 to the level of the beasts4 ,this idea has been expressed in another way1 by saying that vowels express the emotional side of speech1 and consonants its intellectual side4 ,all these distinctions point to the great importance of a clear enunciation of initial and final consonants1 and a clear separation of words4 ,a well-known bishop said to a candidate for ordination1 ,before uttering a second word be sure that you have yourself heard the first4 ,it is of no use to give a list of common errors1 because each part of the country has its own bad points of dialect4 ,the choirmaster should take his standard of ,english from the best preacher and reader he has the chance to hear1 and endeavour to conform his boys to it4 ,but localisms are not the only faults4 ,boys are very apt to clip their words in chanting1 to omit the smaller parts of speech altogether1 and to invent new and meaningless sounds of their own4 ,the most familiar parts of the service need frequent and watchful rehearsal to prevent this tendency4 ,chanting1 as a rule1 is much too fast1 and the eagerness of the boys must be restrained in this direction4 ,in those rare cases where pronunciation and elocutional phrasing reach a high pitch of excellence1 the music of the service makes a double appeal to the heart4 ,it bears not only the charm of sweet sounds1 but the eloquence of noble words4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,singing ,,by ,,ear ,,and ,,by ,,note4 ,many choirmasters maintain that1 considering the short musical life of the choir-boy1 it is not worth while to teach him to sing by note4 ,the quickness of boys' ears for music1 they say1 is astonishing1 while their memories are equally good4 ,between the two faculties--ear and memory--we are told that all things necessary are supplied4 ,the boys1 it is said1 don't like theory1 and it saves time and patience not to have to teach it to them4 ,i am altogether at issue with this view4 ,i believe theory can be made interesting to boys1 especially if the ,tonic ,sol-fa system is used1 and that if they are taught sight-singing the choirmaster saves himself a vast amount of trouble4 ,the after musical doings of the boys should also be considered1 and whether they become tenors and basses1 or take to an instrument1 the power to read music will be a happiness through their whole lives4 ,the leading anthems1 services1 and psalters are now published in the ,tonic ,sol-fa notation1 so that boys who have learnt to sing from the letters at school may quickly be put to sing their parts in the church choir4 ,the late ,alfred ,stone1 of ,bristol1 who used the ,tonic ,sol-fa notation for his choir boys1 found it a great time-saver4 ,so quickly was the service music got through at the weekly practice that there was nearly an hour to spare for singing glees and getting up cantatas4 ,mr4 ,stone arranged his boys in two grades4 ,the upper grade all held a ,tonic ,sol-fa certificate1 and they received higher pay than the lower grade4 ,the result of this arrangement was that the lower boys got the upper ones to teach them ,tonic ,sol-fa in their playtime1 and thus saved the choirmaster a great deal of trouble4 ,a serious disadvantage of the ordinary way of learning to sing from the staff notation is that practice usually begins in1 and is for several months confined to key ,c4 ,for boys' voices this is the most trying of all the keys--the one most likely to lead to bad habits in the use of the registers4 ,the keys for boys to begin in are ,g and ,f1 where you can get a cadence upon the tonic in the thin register4 ,a ,german choirmaster1 whose choir is greatly celebrated1 has sent me a little book of exercises which he uses1 and ,i find that1 as in most ,english publications of a similar kind1 there are pages of exercises in key ,c1 before any other key is attempted4 ,in ,tonic ,sol-fa all keys are equally available from the first4 ,i have had a wide experience of boys taught on all systems1 both in this country and abroad4 ,i have been present1 by the courtesy of choirmasters1 at rehearsals in all parts of the country4 ,and ,i have noticed that boys taught by ear1 or taught the staff notation by the fixed do1 make mistakes which boys trained by ,tonic ,sol-fa and singing from it1 or applying their knowledge of it to the staff notation1 could not make4 ,the class of mistake ,i refer to is that which confuses the place of the semitones in the scale4 ,a sight-singing manual which ,i picked up the other day says that the whole matter of singing at sight lies in knowing where the semitones come4 ,and from one point of view this is true1 but to the ,tonic ,sol-faist the semitones always come in the same places1 i4e41 between me and fah1 and between te and doh4 ,he has only one scale to learn1 and as to modulation1 that is accomplished for him by his notation1 while the time marks1 separating and defining the beats or pulses of the music1 make rhythm vividly clear4 ,if choirmasters wish to save themselves trouble1 and get confident attack and good intonation from their boys1 they should teach them the ,tonic ,sol-fa notation1 and let them sing from it always4 ,the staff notation they can easily learn later on4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,flattening1 ,,and ,,singing ,,out ,,of ,,tune4 ,the trainer of adult voices has constantly before him the problem of making his pupils sing in tune4 ,with boys this matter is less of a trouble1 for this reason4 ,many adults have fine voices which1 if their intonation can be improved1 will do great things4 ,others have incurably bad voices1 but possessing the ambition and the means for studying singing1 they come under the hands of the professor4 ,in the case of boys1 however1 there is a preliminary process of selection by which the teacher rejects at the outset any defective ears and voices4 ,the trainer of boys chooses his pupils2 adult students of singing1 as a rule1 choose their teacher4 ,even1 however1 when a good set of boys has been chosen and trained1 every choirmaster is troubled from time to time by the evils which ,i have named at the head of this paper4 ,what are their causes8 ,probably no cause is so fruitful as a misuse of the registers of the voice1 a straining upwards of the lower register beyond its proper limits4 ,this may be placed in the front as a perpetual cause of bad intonation and loss of pitch4 ,this straining is usually accompanied with loud singing1 but boys who have formed this bad habit will not at once sustain the pitch if told to sing softly4 ,their voices1 under these circumstances1 will at first prove weak and husky1 and will flatten as much with soft singing as they did with loud4 ,a slow process of voice training can alone set them right4 ,but as boys' voices last so short a time this treatment is not worth the trouble4 ,boys who have fallen into thoroughly bad habits should therefore be dismissed1 and a fresh selection made4 ,some choirmasters imagine that practice with the organ or the pianoforte will cure flattening and uncertainty4 ,this1 however1 is not the case4 ,probably the effort to keep up the pitch which singers make when unaccompanied keeps their minds and throats tense and active1 while the consciousness that the instrument is supporting them makes them careless4 ,an instrument reveals loss of pitch1 but does not cure it4 ,no good choirmaster rehearses with the organ4 ,a pianoforte1 lightly touched1 is commonly used1 but the teacher should frequently leave his seat1 and accustom the choir to go on alone4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that boys flatten because the music is too high4 ,this is very rarely the case4 ,they are more likely to flatten because it is too low4 ,boys attack high notes with greater ease than women4 ,nervousness will cause a singer who has sung in perfect tune at home to sing sharp or flat at a concert4 ,but nervousness does not greatly trouble boys4 ,carelessness will sometimes cause these troubles4 ,the way to cure this is to increase the interest of the rehearsal1 to make the boys feel bright1 happy1 and comfortable4 ,to mark the breathing places is a good way of preventing flattening1 which is often caused by exhausted lungs4 ,singing is a mental as well as a physical act1 and unless the boy has a clear conception in his mind of the sound of the note he wants1 the intonation will be uncertain4 ,here comes in the ,tonic ,sol-fa system with its ,mental ,effects1 which give a recognisable character to each note of the scale1 and guide the voice and ear4 ,bad voice production1 throaty and rigid1 must always go with flattening and wavering pitch4 ,the act of singing should be without effort2 the muscles of head1 neck1 and throat should be relaxed4 ,a boy inclined to these faults should be told to smile while singing4 ,the tone will then become natural4 ,but in spite of all these hints1 flattening occurs from time to time in the best trained choirs1 and seems to defy the skill of the choirmaster4 ,all agree that a half empty church1 a cold church1 an ill-ventilated church promotes flattening1 and it may be added that certain chants and tunes so hover about the region of the break that they invite false intonation4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,a4 ,donald1 headmaster of the ,upton ,cross ,board ,school1 tells me that he has not much flattening1 but that when it comes it seems to be beyond control4 ,the discipline of his school is excellent1 but on a given day there will come1 as it were1 a mood over the boys which makes it impossible for them1 try as they will1 to avoid sinking4 ,sometimes1 but not always1 this will happen in warm weather4 ,he has more than once abandoned the singing lesson1 and taken up some other study because of it4 ,one day recently the boys were most attentive1 and their vexation and disappointment with the flattening was evident4 ,another day it does not trouble them in the least4 ,this is a school where voice-training is exceptionally well looked after4 ,several correspondents have favoured me with experience on this point1 and ,i now proceed to quote their letters4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,w4 ,pearson1 of ,elmham1 writes3-- ,ordinary flat singing is the result of want of practice and experience4 ,chronic flat singing is incurable1 as it is due to a defective ear4 ,a new lot of choir boys will be liable to sing flat1 and to lower their pitch at any time for the first year or so2 but after they have been in training for a considerable time1 ,i never find that there is any inclination to sing flat4 ,the notes most liable to be sung flat are the third and sixth of the scale1 or any high note that requires courage and increased effort4 ,one of these1 having been sung flat1 is taken by the singers as a new departure1 and being used as a standard1 the pitch is lowered1 and all succeeding notes are flat4 ,when ,i first formed my present choir ,i was very much plagued with flat singing1 but ,i am seldom troubled in that way now1 and ,i think the reason is that a large proportion of the members have been under training for a long time4 ,i used to find flattening prevail more in muggy1 damp1 or cold weather1 and in heated rooms4 ,i never allowed the choir to go on in this way1 but stopped them at once1 making them begin again after singing the scale of the key a few times4 ,this1 of course1 refers to practice4 ,in church ,i used to play the organ louder when ,i heard the pitch going down2 or ,i would put on a powerful solo stop for the melody1 and slightly prolong the final note of a cadence1 in order that when the choir ceased singing they might hear the difference4 ,when flattening occurred in the concert room ,i used to stop the accompaniment1 which is1 ,i think1 about all that can be done under those circumstances4 ,when the choir have been hopelessly bad in a hot practice room ,i have cured them by bringing them out into a cold room adjoining4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,hibberd1 of ,bemerton1 ,salisbury1 writes3-- ,to prevent flattening ,i give great attention to the posture1 seeing that the boys do not stand carelessly4 ,a careless posture1 ,i think1 betokens a careless mind4 ,i am careful not to overtire the children4 ,they sit immediately one piece is finished1 and stand immediately ,i sound the first chord of the next piece4 ,i always start the practice with a few simple voice exercises4 ,when training the choir of a place far away in the country1 ,i spent more time than usual in giving ear exercises 7dictation71 as well as voice-training exercises4 ,i pay great attention to 'mental effect1' and endeavour to let each boy or girl have a ,tonic ,sol-fa copy of the music4 ,the syllables recall the mental effect to the mind4 ,there should be no uncertainty as to either time or tune1 and both words and notes should be attacked or struck with confidence4 ,i always practise scales downwards1 and have as little to do with the harmonium as possible at practice4 ,boy altos ,i rarely come across4 ,i tried them once1 but found they aided in flattening4 ,we have two men altos here1 who sing in a falsetto voice4 ,the boys here have a name for singing well in tune1 and they are very willing to do anything to keep up their character4 ,mr4 ,walter ,brooks1 in a paper in the ,monthly ,musical ,record1 expresses the opinion that the #crd and #gth of the major scale are often sung flat4 ,to cure this1 each boy must tune up separately1 then all should be tried together4 ,minor passages are often sung flat4 ,loss of pitch during service may1 he says1 be remedied1 not by loud organ stops1 but by playing the boys' part an octave higher4 ,sharp singing1 which often arises from naturally defective or badly-trained ears1 is cured best by checking those who can only sing loudly1 and by insisting on piano singing4 ,to put on more organ power makes the loud sharp singing worse4 ,herr ,eglinger1 of ,basel1 whose qualifications ,i have referred to elsewhere1 considers that flattening is generally due to fatigue4 ,the membranes which produce the voice are not yet strong1 and they relax1 producing flattening4 ,he works on the principle that children are quickly tired1 and quickly rested1 and gives the singing in small doses4 ,unfortunately1 in church work the length of the dose is not a matter of choice4 ,he notices1 what others have noticed1 that when the voices are divided into three parts1 it is the middle part that flattens most2 this is because it plays about the break4 ,to choirmasters whose boys flatten1 ,herr ,eglinger says3-- ,give rest2 require a proper use of the registers2 get sharp and exact pronunciation1 especially of the consonants2 and keep up with a strong hand the attention and interest of the choir4 ,i close this chapter by printing a short paper on the subject kindly written for me by ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,richardson1 formerly trainer of the celebrated ,swanley ,orphans' ,choir1 which gave concerts in all parts of the country4 ,mr4 ,richardson1 while he was at ,swanley1 obtained results of the most remarkable excellence4 ,at ,swanley there was no selection of voices3 all were made to sing1 and all were individually trained1 as well as collectively4 ,my conviction1 says ,mr4 ,richardson1 is that there are no more defective voices than there are eyes and ears4 ,the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,weekes1 late ,precentor of ,rochester ,cathedral1 said of the ,swanley boys3-- ,the smaller boys were first tested--some thirty or forty little fellows1 some of them new arrivals4 ,here the tone1 though of course not strong1 was pure and sweet1 such as would have done credit to cathedral boys after a couple of years' training1 and they 'jumped' their intervals most clearly1 lighting as full and fairly on the correct note as a bird does on a bough4 ,thence we moved into the larger schoolroom1 where were assembled some hundred older boys1 and such a body of sound1 so full and pure1 so free from throatiness1 and so true in intonation as these hundred throats emitted1 ,i certainly never heard from boys' voices before4 ,in #ahhe ,i took the late ,signor ,roberti1 teacher of singing in the ,normal ,college at ,turin1 and an ,italian composer of eminence1 to hear the ,swanley boys1 and he afterwards wrote to ,mr4 ,richardson3-- ,i do not exaggerate in any way by saying that ,i found there a true perfection in tune and in rhythm1 but above all1 in what concerns the pure and correct emission of voices1 the careful and judicious training of which confers much honour upon you1 and ,i would be happy to see it even partly imitated by the teachers of the so-called ,land of ,song4 ,these facts are enough to prove the weight that attaches to ,mr4 ,richardson's utterances3-- ,my experience has been that flattening will give the teacher very little trouble after the pupils have been drilled with voice-training exercises1 but until the voices are built and strengthened1 he will have unpleasant surprises of all kinds4 ,if he would have a reliable choir he must begin1 continue1 and end with regular voice training based on an undeniably good system4 ,from the very outset the pupil should be taught to fear flat singing as a demon4 ,with my boys ,i was for ever laying down the self-evident truth1 ',people can endure your singing if it be tuneful1 even though all other points of excellence are low1 but no one can put up with your singing out of tune1 except as martyrs4' ,the cause of flattening is always lack of culture4 ,in the choirs ,i have trained it has ceased to trouble me after a few months4 ,the habit of letting the pitch drop fosters itself in a remarkable manner1 until at last the ear of the performer is perfectly satisfied with the production of a monstrosity4 ,in proof of this ,i would mention a case which has come painfully under my own notice4 ,a number of boys known to me have been in the daily habit of singing the tune3-- ,illustration3 key ,eb43d m3f3r d3-3m s3-3l s3-3s d#a3-3t l3-s c4 and as they have only had a 'go as you please system' to hold them in1 they now commence flattening at once with a crescendo which culminates in the second line1 and creates the effect3-- ,illustration33d m3f3r d3-3m s3-3l s3-3s #a;d#a3-3t l3-3s c4 ,the original quite gone1 they quite satisfied6 ,the cause of continued flat singing is allowing the bad habit4 ,i am not1 of course1 dealing with exceptional cases of natural inaptitude4 ,these are rare1 and ,i say this after having had some years of experience in testing individual voices4 ,i could now with very little difficulty name the few pupils ,i had at ,swanley who were naturally unable to sing tunefully1 and ,i doubt not that nearly all my old scholars could do the same4 ,they were in reality exceptions1 numbering1 during the whole of the time ,i was with them1 not more than half-a-dozen4 ,there is one stage in the voice training where the teacher finds his pupils 7boys ,i am speaking of1 my experience with adults not having been so extensive7 habitually sharpen4 ,in my own neighbourhood a teacher who has commenced to properly train his boys to sing1 in a conversation he had with me told me of this1 to him1 unexpected difficulty4 ,to get good intonation in part-singing1 ,i found the singing of chords a great help4 ,the class should be divided rapidly1 and one note of the chord assigned to each section4 ,then it should be sung softly4 ,this should be repeated with other chords1 and followed by easy phrases4 ,voices do not at once blend1 and until they do the singing should be never loud4 ,i look upon the earlier work as tentative--a feeling for the beauty of perfection of pitch1 tunefulness1 and intonation4 ,a practice to be condemned is that of learning the parts of a tune separately1 and then bringing them together4 ,there are1 of course1 places where it is absolutely necessary to give special attention to exceptional passages1 but it is a mistake to teach each part as though it were an independent tune--to give the direction1 which ,i have often heard1 ',now sing your part1 and never mind what the others are doing1' or ',don't you listen to any other part4' ,this system is answerable for the most offending cases of want of tunefulness1 in which one part will sing on with the greatest of satisfaction in a key a semitone from that in which the part above or below is moving4 ,the ear should be prepared by a symphony1 or by thinking of the key before a piece is commenced4 ,my own practice has been to wait after giving the key-note for the pupils to do this4 ,i have recently come across a method of allowing the pupils to find the tonic of a song about to be sung1 which in nine cases out of ten will make the opening as 'restless' as the sea waves4 ,the teacher strikes the ,c fork1 and the tonic being ,f1 all the pupils sing ,c'1 ,b1 ,a1 ,g1 ,f--doh4 ,the ,c'1 ,b1 ,a1 ,g1 ,f is1 ,i think1 as likely to unsettle the ear as anything that could be imagined4 ,the teacher should give the key-note4 ,he may teach his pupils to use the fork if he will1 but not in a way so exquisitely calculated to unsettle the ear when it should be strongly decided4 ,with regard to ,registers1 ,i do not know whether the nomenclature ,i employed with my ,swanley choir will be commended by you1 but as it was successful ,i will describe it4 ,the registers we called1 perhaps inelegantly1 ',top1' ',middle1' and ',bottom1' these terms being handier than ,upper ,thin1 ,lower ,thin1 and ,upper ,thick4 ,the earliest exercises were in the ,top ,register--that is1 the ,upper ,thin4 ,boys untrained are1 taken in bulk1 unconscious of the ,thin ,register4 ,having got them to sing1 say ,c to koo1 ,i have followed it by singing to the same syllable the tune3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,ab m3m f3f s3--m3-- c4 7',now the day is over1'--,a4 ,m471 and the delight has been intense when the pupils have thus discovered how clearly and sweetly they could sing4 ,when this is done great possibilities seem to open1 and the pupil is on the road to perfection4 ,bb and ,eb ,i found most convenient for change4 ,the ,small ,register must have been used1 as my lads sang up to ,c#b with the greatest ease and finish1 though one of our foremost teachers1 in a conference ,i had with him on the subject1 said he would stake his reputation that the small register was not employed by them4 ,it received no name in our practices after that authoritative statement1 and ever afterwards ,i was in dread of being called over the coals for allowing the ,top register to get too high4 ,boy altos can be made to sing without flattening1 though they invariably give more trouble than trebles on account of their willingness to let the lower register overlap the one above--to force upward4 ,they should practise with the trebles such exercises as3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,eb s f m r d so as to strengthen this part of the voice1 which may be termed their flattening field4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,on ,,the ,,training ,,of ,,boys' ,,voices4 ,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,richardson1 ,formerly ,conductor of the ,swanley ,orphanage ,choir4,a ,a ,mr4 ,richardson has responded to my request for hints with such fulness and weight that ,i devote a separate chapter to his essay4 ,in writing1 he has specially had in view the difficulties of choir trainers in rural districts4 ,all that a writer on the training of voices can do is to lay down general lines1 and give comprehensive suggestions4 ,the teacher1 to make any use of them must be indeed a teacher1 not a mere mechanically automatic individual of only sufficient calibre to take the directions of a writer1 and give them again4 ,he should be both enthusiastic in his work1 and willing to spend his strength in patience if he would have a choir of boys to sing reliably well4 ,it is of the greatest importance that work should be set out on right lines1 and that a thoughtfully prepared scheme should be arranged before commencing4 ,i would here give my experience of two choirs ,i had at different times in agricultural districts1 and in one of them ,i was well satisfied with the progress we made1 while in the other my work was completely thrown away4 ,the reason for the failure in the second instance 7which ,i foresaw from the outset7 will be gathered from the following account of our plan of campaign4 ,the choir was a village one which met for rehearsal once a week4 ,the organist attended and presided at a harmonium1 and1 nolens volens1 ,i had at the beginning of each practice to take the choir through the whole of the next ,sunday's services4 ,the boys' voices were1 at the beginning of my connection1 uncivilised1 and at the end of it--fortunately the question of ways and means not allowing the interval to extend beyond a few months--were as barbarous as at the commencement4 ,there was absolutely no chance of making a name through these youngsters2 and as to voice culture6 ,how could it be possible to attempt it after labouring through such a programme as ,canticles1 ,hymns1 ,psalms1 ,kyrie1 and ,amens8 ,i determined never to take office again unless ,i could have my own way in fixing the time-table of work4 ,my success in the other case was owing greatly to the fact that ,i had one night a week entirely devoted to musical training and voice culture4 ,this did not preclude us from relieving the drudgery of work by the singing of songs and hymns1 but it allowed me the use of an unfettered judgment in the choice of what should be attempted4 ,a teacher is heavily handicapped if after getting his boys for the first time to sing in the upper thin register1 he is to follow his delicate work by singing half-a-dozen verses to a tune which will in the very first verse undo all that he has done1 simply because its melodic progression encourages forcing4 ,experienced teachers will appreciate what ,i say on this point4 ,take such a tune as3-- ,illustration3 c4 ,,key ,eb4 m3f s3l t3d#a s3f c4 --a tune which inevitably causes a wrong use of the registers by inexperienced boys4 ,the tunes selected should further the work of the exercises1 not undo it1 and with diligence the teacher can find suitable tunes and chants for this purpose4 ,my advice to all teachers is that before commencing work they should insist upon conditions that do not preclude success1 and that they should not spend their labour in wearying drudgery with the full consciousness that to attain it is impossible4 ,one suggestion ,i would make is that the choirmaster1 if he be not1 as is often the case in villages1 also schoolmaster1 would do well to enlist the services of the school teachers in the village4 ,it is not often practicable to have more than one--or two at the most--meetings of a choir during the week1 and the length of the lesson must be1 in consequence1 at least an hour4 ,for voice training in the earlier stages six lessons a week of fifteen minutes each are preferable to one of an hour and a half1 and therefore ,i would urge the necessity of getting hold of the sympathies of the school teacher1 and putting him on right lines to work out the choirmaster's ideas1 if the offices be not united4 ,voice work should be begun in the infant school4 ,at ,swanley it was my practice to give1 ,i believe1 daily lessons in the ,infant ,department1 and the remarks made by visitors will bear out what ,i am about to say as to the possibility of getting young children to sing1 and sing like little angels4 ,i was always as pleased to exhibit my infants' vocal powers as to show those of my more advanced boys1 and success was1 comparatively speaking1 more easily gained with them than with older boys1 for inasmuch as the difficulty of registers and breaks does not exist as such with these tiny ones1 and unless our plans be artificial or formed of caprice1 this is what should be expected4 ,in the infant school the teacher can take hold of the good that is innate1 and mould it2 in the higher school he has to spend hours and hours eradicating the bad habits which shouting and untamed license have allowed to grow4 ,by all means begin with the infants1 and let their songs and nursery rhymes be written so as to give them a chance4 ,but ,i am asked to say something that may be helpful to the choirmaster having to train the vocal organs of boys who are beyond infantile methods4 ,i will therefore suppose myself for the first time before an ordinary country group of lads with all the vocal faults that now appear indigenous to the locality4 ,i should first get them to find the ,upper ,thin ,register1 and my plan is to confine the work to this region ,illustration3 musical notation and get the boys to sing koo to ,d1 ,e1 or ,f1 making my own ,exercises1 which are suggested by present circumstances3-- ,illustration3 ,koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo ,,key ,db4 d#a m#a m#a d#a m#a r#a d#a d#a r#a m#a ,koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo ,,key ,d4 d#a r#a d#a l t d#a d#a t r#a d#a ,koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo ,,key ,eb4 d#a r#a t d#a r#a d#a l s d#a ,koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo koo ,,key ,bb4 s f m r d s m s s s ,as at this stage the boys know nothing of the diatonic scale1 ,i let them imitate4 ,the exercises may be played on a pianoforte1 if the teacher cannot sing them1 though in the latter case it is preferable that he should adopt the plan of selecting his best pupils for the models4 ,i once had to commence with some uncultured boys1 and knowing the difficulty of getting them to make a start1 took with me a few of my own trained lads1 who sang the exercises first1 after which ,i added one or two of the beginners to them1 and sympathetically they soon sang in the proper register with the others4 ,by continuing the process of addition gradually ,i soon got the whole class to sing as ,i wished4 ,at this first lesson the proper production of oo 7vowel7 should be obtained4 ,i deal with the vowels as they arise1 never observing a lack of clearness and purity without endeavouring to correct it4 ,the foregoing exercises can next be used for teaching the intervals of the diatonic scale1 for instance3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,f4 d#a3-- s3-- s3-- d#a3-- calling the notes by their names1 doh soh4 ,here1 again1 the proper vowel production must be sought for1 and obtained4 ,the difficulties will be varied in this respect with the locality4 ,often ,i have met with doh-oo4 ,this1 as well as ray-ee1 and other faults that need not be specified1 can be corrected at once4 ,the beautiful intonation we had at ,swanley ,i attribute in a large measure to the care bestowed on the production of vowel sounds4 ,there must be no division of opinion among the singers as to how any particular vowel sound should be emitted4 ,if there be not unity in this respect the intonation suffers4 ,the earlier exercises should be sung in unison1 a correct division into #ast1 #bnd1 and #crd trebles being impossible until the boys have acquired sufficient confidence to show what they are naturally4 ,i have for a long time used with advantage the single chant form for exercises1 making them myself4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,f4 d#a3-l3t d#a3-;d#a3-t3#a s3t d#a3- ,in order to avoid waste of time in learning exercises they should be short1 so that they can be caught up at once4 ,to get boys to sing in the register below 7the ,lower ,thin7 is the next step1 the exercises now being confined between ,illustration3 musical notation and formed in the same way as those in the higher region4 ,the difficulty is greater in getting rough boys to use this part of the vocal score correctly4 ,the best way ,i have found to get them to discover it1 is to sing ,illustration3 ,,key ,f4 s f m r d--beginning at ,c#a1 to koo4 ,the notes are at first weak1 and there is a tendency to squork1 if ,i may so term it4 ,these exercises must be sung softly at first1 and at this stage the schoolmaster can render valuable help if he will get his boys to read from their lesson books in this register instead of in the one below it4 ,i have to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to one of our best and most painstaking teachers for giving me this hint4 ,the reading will at first be weak1 and in a monotone1 and there being no flexibility1 the boys will have difficulty in forming the usual cadence at the end of sentences1 but practice will soon strengthen the weakness1 and make this register as strong as the one below it4 ,between the one above and the one below1 this middle one is apt to be overlooked altogether1 and ,i have heard some fairly pleasing singing where it has not been recognised at all4 ,the third register 7,upper ,thick7 should now receive attention1 and in order to find it the pupils should cultivate it upwards with such exercises as-- ,illustration3 c4 ,,key ,ab4 d#a r#a d#a d#a r#a m#a c4 ,koo koo koo koo koo koo ,within the limits of a short paper1 it is impossible to give more fully all the needful directions for training the voices to cover up breaks1 and to change from one register to another4 ,suitable tunes should now be selected1 so that the aim of the exercises may be extended4 ,remember that it is easiest to leap from one register to a higher1 a stepwise ascent being an insidious snare4 ,koo and afterwards laa such tunes as3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,c4 s3m d#a3s m#a3-4r#a;d#a3s l3l s3d#a s3f m3- ,,key ,eb4 m3r f3m r3-m3-l3s t3d#a s3-f3- m3r f3m r3-l3-d#a3s m3r d3--3- ,many ready-made exercises are to be found in any chant book1 which can be used to strengthen the voice and build it4 ,for voice exercise ,i like a high reciting note at the beginning1 ,d#a1 ,c#a1 ,eb#a1 as by this we ensure getting the right register for the high notes1 which will be a matter of doubt for some time if the question of suitability of melody be left out of calculation4 ,i strongly recommend the use of the time names4 ,for some years ,i was prejudiced against them1 but after trying them1 believe them to be of the greatest value4 ,the teacher should give manual signs for his short exercises4 ,time is wasted unnecessarily if the teacher has to turn and write on the board4 ,the objection to working through a book1 only using prescribed exercises1 is chiefly this--no book writer can provide for all the permutations and combinations that may arise during the actual work of teaching2 it is impossible for him to anticipate them4 ,this does not in the least detract from the value of the book1 which must be the best general guide for by far the larger part of our teachers4 ,i have referred to the teaching of vowel sounds1 and would say a word about consonants4 ,my practice has been to guard against giving undue prominence to any individual letter1 and to encourage always a simple unaffected utterance in singing4 ,rolling r's is very well1 but to precede the vowel with a sound not unlike the noise caused by springing a police rattle is neither artistic nor pleasing4 ,my custom was to first let the pupils sing a vowel1 say aa1 and require it to be held on as long as my hand was still4 ,a sharp movement of the hand directed when the consonant should appear1 as aa--t1 c41 the appearance and disappearance being as close together as possible4 ,it is a difficulty with beginners to sing such words as night1 bright1 c41 holding on the middle part1 or vowel4 ,i demonstrated that the singer has nothing left to sing after having too soon disposed of the vowel4 ,i also gave exercises in prefixing a consonant to a vowel4 ,other points of detail will arise1 such as in the word sing4 ,the habit here is to make the ng sound throughout the greater part of the durance of the singing of the word4 ,by analysing1 and showing by copying the bad model1 the teacher will convince the pupil that ng held on is unpleasant4 ,in singing laa1 laa1 laa1 c41 at first pupils lower and raise the jaw4 ,this should be at once stopped4 ,but it is impossible to anticipate every difficulty that will arise under this head4 ,i have said enough to indicate generally my method4 ,i do not propose to enter into the question of breathing4 ,one thing ,i would say--do not try pupils by requiring them to sing long notes at first1 but do get them at the beginning to phrase to your pattern4 ,this will from the first get the will to control the breath taking4 ,by all means introduce certificates4 ,by the examination of individuals1 the teacher will get truer knowledge of his learners' powers1 and will be enabled to give advice of greater value because of its assured need4 ,let the examination be in public--before the other pupils--and so help to beget confidence in the pupil1 without which success will be limited4 ,the teacher should never do anything to destroy the confidence of his pupils1 though ,i am bound to admit that ,i have not always been free from irritability and impatience in my dealings with pupils4 ,the work is trying1 the nerves of a teacher of singing are throughout highly strung1 and very little cause is necessary to upset his equilibrium4 ,he should therefore be ever on his guard to check any tendency to show impatience4 ,never get a pupil to sing alone for the sake of showing his defects to others4 ,no one can sing who does not possess a sense of his power to do so4 ,there should be encouraged an abandon sort of manner4 ,a gentleman once said to me1 ,i see how you make your boys sing2 you tell them they can do it1 and that makes them do it4 ,the rigid watching of the beat of the conductor should not be too closely insisted on4 ,no machine-like singing should satisfy1 even though it be correct4 ,the correctness of a great painter's production is not everything1 and neither is it with the singer4 ,there should an atmosphere of the liberty of freedom4 ,at ,swanley my work was lessened by the interest that all my colleagues took in it4 ,a moral force was constantly brought to bear on the boys1 which made them work with a will and a determination to excel4 ,their success was the same in other departments of work1 though not so prominently placed4 ,the music teacher who has in himself the power to draw out the latent feeling of his pupils is the one who will best succeed4 ,i would draw my remarks to a close with this advice3--,make your choir as large as possible4 ,take all who will come into it1 and do not go through the form of trying voices that have never tried themselves1 and of which you can form no opinion4 ,for adults this is a necessity1 but for children it is better to get one or two per cent4 of naturally defective learners1 rather than to turn away all but those showing undoubtedly exceptional ability4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,special ,,difficulties ,,of ,,agricultural ,,districts4 ,my object is to help those whose difficulties are greatest2 who1 so far from being able to pick out boys of musical talent and fine voice1 are obliged to accept the material that offers1 often of the poorest musical description4 ,the country boy is a more healthy animal than his brother of the town1 and there is no fault to be found with the natural volume of his voice provided he can be taught to place his registers rightly1 to avoid straining the thick or chest register1 to pronounce and phrase properly4 ,this is1 however1 what the ,americans call a large order4 ,i have been fortunate in collecting information from several choirmasters in agricultural districts1 who have conquered the difficulties of this task4 ,first1 ,i quote ,mr4 ,w4 ,critchley1 choirmaster and schoolmaster at ,hurst1 near ,reading3-- ,the rural choir-boy differs somewhat from his brethren of the town in the following particulars4 ,as a rule1 he is duller1 and slower in his perception2 he is attentive and docile1 but sluggish2 he retains what he is taught1 and therefore1 as far as mere knowledge and memory are concerned1 it 'pays' to take him in hand4 ,his voice is strong1 but rough1 and this undisciplined strength is the cause of most of the trouble he gives4 ,moreover1 he is exposed to the weather very largely1 and this causes him to be more influenced by atmospheric changes than the town boy1 and prevents1 in a great measure1 any great delicacy of finish from being obtained4 ,so it will be seen that the country choir-boy requires special treatment in order to produce good results4 ,sometimes1 when a village lies compactly together1 a large amount of work can be got through similar to that which we find in towns1 but generally the rural district is wide and scattered1 and only a limited number of practices can be secured4 ,under these circumstances1 ,i have found the best course to pursue to be somewhat as follows3--,first and foremost1 let the ,tonic ,sol-fa system be taught1 it lightens the work of the choirmaster in a wonderful degree1 and the boys bring an intelligence to their work which is unattainable by any other means4 ,if the system has not been taught in the day school of the parish1 it should be introduced at once2 if that is not practicable1 the choir-boys should be taught at a second practice-night4 ,this second practice is required in any case1 if anything better than mere 'scratch' singing be aimed at4 ,all practices should be begun by voice exercises4 ,on the extra night a greater amount of time should be taken up with them1 for to a country choir-boy1 who perhaps in the day is shouting to scare birds1 they are vital4 ,the lower register of a country boy is1 as a rule1 coarse1 so it is important to get him to use his higher register as soon as possible4 ,show him first of all that he has1 as it were1 two voices1 and point out that he is required1 as ,mr4 ,evans observes1 to use that voice which is most like a girl's4 ,he will be apt for some time to use this voice in the upper notes of the music only1 and there will be a disagreeable transition to the lower register when the music comes down on ,g1 or thereabouts4 ,to conquer this1 ,i use exercises which train the upper register downwards1 such as3-- ,illustration3 ,,keys ,a to ,f4 d m s m d r 74d 74t#a 74l#a the object being to strengthen the upper register1 and1 except where the music touches ,d or ,c1 ,illustration3 musical notation to practically 'shelve' the lower thick register in the case of treble voices4 ,in training upwards ,i insist on easy singing1 no straining4 ,i don't mean apathetic singing1 for this is especially to be fought against in the case of country boys1 as there is naturally a want of 'go' about them4 ,i mean soft singing1 but energetic4 ,i tell the boys to sing like birds1 and they generally understand from this that they are to use the upper register4 ,i do not find much difficulty with them in the way of flattening4 ,except in the case of the younger boys1 ,i often hear them a little sharp4 ,the ,tonic ,sol-fa method trains their ears1 and ,i get them to listen1 and blend their voices2 above all1 to get rid of apathy4 ,and if there should be a tendency with the younger boys to sing flat1 ,i generally find that the application of the old rules as to position1 loud singing1 forcing the voice1 faulty breathing1 and inattention will remedy the fault4 ,if it occurs in church1 a judicious use of a four-foot stop on the organ often keeps up the pitch4 ,i find1 if the melody of a chant or tune has a great many of the 'thirds' of the chords in it 7,i mean as distinct from the fifth1 root1 c47 it is often difficult1 especially on a foggy morning1 to keep it in tune1 e4g43-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,g4 74m m3r m3-- 74m r3d r3r m3-- or1 ,,key ,g4 74m f3m re3-- 74m r3d t#a3r d3-- or1 ,,key ,f4 74m f3l s3-- 74s d#a3m r3f m3-- ,this is the case in a marked degree when the reciting tone comes about the natural 'break' of the voice4 ,the remedy for this ,i find to be transition into another key1 one which ,i judge to be more congenial to the state of the boys' voices4 ,here is where the usefulness of the ,tonic ,sol-fa system to an organist comes in4 ,a lot of practice in mental effects has a surprising result in ear training4 ,sometimes1 however1 we get a clergyman who intones badly1 and then it is quite a struggle to keep in tune4 ,there are a number of other little points which tell against correct singing in a country choir2 the generally thick enunciation1 the provincialism1 the difficulty in getting open mouths4 ,i do a lot of reading by pattern1 and pay attention to initial and final consonants4 ,country boys neglect these more than town boys4 ,i practise without organ as much as ,i can4 ,if an instrument is used1 the piano is decidedly the best4 ,i find ,gregorian singing has a strong tendency to injure purity of tone and delicacy of expression4 ,i do as little of it as possible4 ,on the second choir practice night ,i spoke of1 it is certainly good to take up glee practice1 or a simple cantata4 ,it sustains the interest1 and makes the choir a bond of union in a country village4 99 99 99 99 99 ,not long ago ,i found myself by chance worshipping in a remote village in ,east ,somerset1 ,churchill by name4 ,there was1 in the parish church1 a choir of six boys and four probationers1 who sang so slowly and sweetly1 not with the luscious fulness of some boys ,i have heard1 but with such uncommonly good style for agricultural boys1 that ,i was much interested4 ,these small villages have1 from the present point of view1 one advantage4 ,the day schools are mixed 7containing boys and girls71 and the teacher is a lady4 ,both these influences tend to the softening of the boy's voice4 ,miss ,demack1 the school-and choir-mistress at ,churchill1 has kindly written a few notes on the subject of her work1 in which she says3-- ,i certainly think that the girls' voices soften the boys'4 ,i admit probationers at the early age of six if ,i find they have any voice1 as ,i think the earlier the better4 ,when ,i took my boys in hand1 ,i found scale exercises very useful4 ,i did not teach them any tunes until ,i had somewhat altered their rough voices4 ,another help was this3 ,i had a girl with a particularly good voice1 and made the boys imitate her as much as possible4 ,this ,i found answered remarkably well4 ,the boys seemed to adopt quite a different tone4 ,miss ,demack teaches singing in the school and choir by ear only1 and knows nothing of the ,tonic ,sol-fa system4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i next give a short paper kindly sent me by ,mr4 ,george ,parbery1 choirmaster of the parish church1 and master of the ,national ,school at ,fordingbridge1 ,hants3-- ,dear ,sir1--,as choirmaster of the parish church here1 and as one who takes great interest in the subject of singing in schools1 ,i am happy to respond to your request1 as we are essentially a rural district4 ,i have occupied my position now nearly ten years1 and am just beginning to find the benefit of the ,tonic ,sol-fa movement amongst my adult members of the choir1 having now nine adults who have passed through the school with a good practical knowledge of the ,sol-fa notation4 ,when ,i commenced work here 7coming from north of ,england7 ,i was struck with the very disagreeable tone of the boys' and girls' voices4 ,to say they sang flat does not convey how flat they sang1 nor does it convey any idea of the tone1 but the same may be heard any night at the ,salvation ,army meetings here4 ,the vicar of the parish told me also upon my arrival here1 that at a church in ,bournemouth a former vicar used to import all his boy voices outside of ,hampshire4 ,so that you will gather that ,i had not a light task before me to produce a tone satisfactory to myself or the inspector4 ,but ,i may safely say ,i have for some years satisfied myself1 and last year our assistant-inspector spoke of the very beautiful quality of the boys' voices4 ,i can assure you that it is only rarely that ,i find occasion to complain of the tone4 ,the moment ,i hear the objectionable tone produced1 ,i immediately stop the singing1 even if in the middle of prayers4 ,mine is a boys' school1 but ,i teach the girls singing with the boys4 ,now as to how ,i produced the change3-- #a4 ,i introduced the ,tonic ,sol-fa notation4 #b4 ,i used to practise very frequently for a few minutes upon the modulator1 making abundant use of the upper-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,c4 d#a r#a m#a f#a #c4 ,i prohibited all shouting on high notes4 #d4 ,particularly was ,i severe upon loud singing in lower notes1 say1 ,illustration3 ,,key ,f4 r d t#a l#a s#a #e4 ,i established a degree of sound1 and have it still1 what is known amongst my scholars as 'singing in a whisper'--i4e41 to produce singing as softly as possible4 ,this idea ,i picked up in ,cheshire from a good ,tonic ,sol-faist4 #f4 ,i have one or two favourite hymns1 which ,i always pitch higher than written1 and thus compel the boys to use the upper registers4 ,the boys know ,i like these hymns1 and ,i never fail to appreciate them to the boys at the end of singing4 ,i also have a favourite marching tune--,i don't know the name1 but ,i believe it is often set to the hymn1 ',when mothers of ,salem4' ,this tune is very lofty1 and ,i believe the boys really enjoy its loftiness1 but there must be no shouting4 ,when the boys displease me1 ,i tell them they drop their jaw too much1 and they instantly know what ,i mean4 #g4 ,i have very little alto singing in school1 for the reason that it has a tendency to encourage loudness4 ,in my choir ,i arrange for three or four of the oldest boys to sing alto4 ,in conclusion1 ,i may say ,i am thoroughly proud of my boys' singing from standard ,i4 up to the top of the school1 and ,i believe my success has been chiefly from abundant use of the modulator for scale practice1 and never allowing loud singing4 ,proud as ,i am of my boys1 the girls certainly excel them1 and ten years ago their tone was worse1 if possible1 than the boys4 ,i have no instrument in school1 but occasionally use a violin4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a correspondent from another agricultural county--,i will not give his name--favours me with some rules which he has used more or less for thirty years4 ,in one school taught by the writer1 the inspector said he could not distinguish the boys from the girls' voices--truly a high compliment4 ,my correspondent names a new hindrance to church music in rural places1 namely1 the clergyman's daughter6-- ,practise the scales up and down to the words 'la' and 'ha1' the latter for the purpose of separating the teeth4 ,commence at the key of ,c to ,c#a1 then from ,d to ,d#a1 and so on upwards as high as the voices of the boys can reach1 never resting satisfied until they cover two octaves firmly4 ,in teaching new music1 and1 generally speaking1 in accompanying the boys1 play the note they are singing and its octave above--on the stopped diapason and flute if an organ1 or the corresponding stops on a harmonium4 ,let there be no other accompaniment1 and on every occasion the octave above the note sung4 ,this is very particular4 ,check one voice singing above another4 ,have no leaders4 ,stop or subdue all harsh voices1 and make them listen to1 and try to copy the pure notes of the flute2 let the boys sing well within their strength4 ,if you lack power1 increase the number of choristers1 and subdue the voices4 ,i always choose smooth flowing chants1 with the reciting note ranging from ,f to ,c4 ,i do not care to go higher than ,g above the line in anthems or services1 but have trained them to start on ,bb1 ',the ,sisters of the ,sea1' by ,jackson4 ,i never trouble about altos1 they are too difficult to get1 and indifferent and troublesome when obtained1 but in verse parts of services or anthems1 one of the best boys will supply the deficiency1 and even take up the lead in a chorus4 ,choirs experience a difficulty which is not included in your list of points4 ,i have received #fj per annum as an organist1 #ej and a house4 ,on another occasion ,i was offered the choir-mastership of a church choral society of #fj members4 ,at this time ,i was trainer and conductor of a choral society of #ajj voices with string and wind accompaniment1 the subject being ,the ,messiah4 ,yet ,i was not considered competent at the church at which ,i played to put a tune to a hymn1 but had to submit to the parson's daughter1 who was qualified through taking three months' lessons from a ,german4 ,on one occasion this lady went ten times through a hymn to please her father in trying to fit a four-lined tune of the wrong metre to a six-lined hymn6 ,i offered to go through an eleventh time1 but he never interfered again4 ,i could give you many instances where these ladies themselves are the great drawback of good church singing1 but on the other hand1 ,i could mention cases where they never come near a practice1 or interfere from one year's end to the other4 99 99 99 99 99 ,knowing1 as ,i do1 the devoted way in which clergymen's daughters in many rural places train the choir1 ,i hesitate to endorse this charge4 ,the work needs to be done with tact and consideration4 ,in the vast majority of cases these ladies are a great help4 ,i do not approve the plan of playing the melody in octaves while it is being learnt1 which my correspondent advocates4 ,i give his letter as a record of earnest work4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,w4 ,w4 ,pearson1 of ,elmham1 ,dereham1 ,norfolk1 writes to me as follows3-- ,i have had1 as you say1 a great deal of experience in teaching singing1 especially in rural districts2 but the neighbourhood ,i have lived in for the last twenty years 7,norfolk71 is a very barren field for musical culture--the worst in my experience4 ,the voices of those who do sing in this county are1 on an average1 a minor third lower than those of ,yorkshire1 ,north ,wales1 the west of ,england1 and other places where ,i have had experience4 ,they are also1 for the most part1 flabby1 wanting in resonance and quality4 ,tenors are very scarce1 and even the few who can sing in the tenor register1 have not got the true tenor quality4 ,this may be the effect of the low elevation above the sea-level1 and the damp humid atmosphere2 or it may be partly due to race4 ,the plan ,i adopt for getting boys to use their upper registers is a very old-fashioned one2 but it is very effective4 ,it is to make them sing the major diatonic scale1 ascending and descending2 beginning at a low pitch1 and gradually raising it by a semitone at a time4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,c4 ,hibberd1 of ,bemerton1 near ,salisbury1 whom ,i quote also in the chapter on ,flattening1 dwells on the difficulties of the rural choirmaster4 ,he says3-- ,i have rarely come across the soft fluty tone in the country4 ,i once met with a boy with it in the choir at ,parkstone1 near ,bournemouth1 and another here at ,bemerton1 but in both cases the boys were above the average of country boys1 and the village was close to a larger town4 ,in both cases1 also1 the boys had good and careful practice over and above the ordinary choir practices4 ,at places farther in the country it seems an impossibility to get the tone4 ,with only a few boys to pick from1 it is a difficulty to find boys enough to fill up ordinary vacancies4 ,with a great deal of trouble and practice one can get a great part of the roughness toned down1 and1 as a rule1 that is all4 99 99 99 99 99 ,several of my correspondents1 it will be noticed1 speak with great confidence of the use of the ,tonic ,sol-fa system in rural places4 ,this system1 useful everywhere1 certainly attains its greatest usefulness in places where the task of the choirmaster reaches its highest degree of difficulty4 ,to those whose only acquaintance with ,tonic ,sol-fa is a casual glance at a printed page of the new notation1 it naturally seems strange that the use of a musical shorthand can affect the whole training of the boy4 ,but behind the letters and punctuation marks1 which go to make up the ,tonic ,sol-fa notation1 there lies the ,tonic ,sol-fa method--a fixed and many-sided educational system1 founded on the truest principles of education1 carrying on simultaneously the training of the ear for tune and time1 making progress sure because gradually developing the intelligence along with the voice4 ,with ,tonic ,sol-fa1 also1 is associated a definite system of voice-training4 ,tonic ,sol-fa teachers are all more or less of educationists1 and have caught by observation or study the teacher's art4 ,this is the cause of their success4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,practice ,,of ,,various ,,choirmasters ,,in ,,cathedrals1 c4 ,i ,,summarise here information obtained1 chiefly by observation and conversation1 from various trainers of boys' voices at cathedrals and collegiate churches4 ,,chapel ,,royal1 ,,st4 ,,james',s4 ,some years ago ,i attended a practice of the boys1 under the late ,rev4 ,thomas ,helmore4 ,it began with slow scales sung to a light pianoforte accompaniment4 ,these were followed by rapid runs1 the key gradually rising until the highest note touched was ,c above the treble staff4 ,the vocable used was ah4 ,after this came time exercises1 solfeggios1 the pointing out of notes by the boys on and between the fingers of their left hands1 which represented the staff4 ,mr4 ,helmore declared that new boys while singing nearly always 7#a7 frown1 or 7#b7 hold their heads on one side4 ,he was strict about avoiding these faults4 ,in going over the psalms for the day1 the boys sang mostly one by one1 verse after verse4 ,this was a searching test for the boy who sang1 while all the others were actively criticising4 ,the boys practised secular music by way of change4 ,four of them were monitors1 four fags1 and two probationers4 ,the tone was refined and pure1 ,mr4 ,helmore himself being a good singer4 ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,cathedral4 ,here1 owing to the size of the building1 a tremendous volume of shrill tone has to be cultivated1 which in the practice room is sometimes overwhelming4 ,the practice ,i heard began with slow scales sung to ah 7pianoforte accompaniment7 ranging over two octaves1 ,c to ,c#b2 each key between ,c to ,c#a was taken1 and the scale sung ascending and descending4 ,this was loud singing1 but not shouting4 ,then came agility exercises in the form of chords1 rapid scales1 c41 sung still to ah4 ,this daily tuning-up lasted ten minutes4 ,then 7incidentally affording rest to the boys7 came a short lesson on theory4 ,boys were called up in turn to write notes1 signs1 c41 on the blackboard4 ,practice now began4 ,the boys sing a new piece to words at once1 never sol-faing4 ,they seldom try a piece more than three times before it is heard at the cathedral4 ,they sit during rehearsal1 standing at the ,gloria ,patri4 ,the boys have a daily practice of an hour-and-a-half4 ,,westminster ,,abbey4 ,the refined style of the boys trained by ,dr4 ,bridge is well known4 ,the abbey is small enough to allow the graces of singing to be cultivated4 ,in the music room there are two rows of desks facing the same way1 so that ,dr4 ,bridge1 sitting at his cottage piano1 can cast a side glance full upon the boys4 ,two practices are held daily2 one from nine till ten a4m4 is spent in getting up the service music4 ,the afternoon practice1 at the close of evensong1 is chiefly devoted to theory4 ,a card hanging up on the wall shows exactly how the time of the afternoon practice is apportioned between the study of intervals1 and scales1 chanting1 responses1 manuscript exercises1 the singing of ,concone's solfeggios1 and the practice of secular music4 ,the excellent phrasing and pure tone are partly due to the practice of secular music1 which gives elasticity and gentleness to the boys' voices4 ,no formal system of voice-training is in use4 ,the boys enter at from #i to #aj-a_/b1 not older4 ,a new boy is placed in the middle of the row of choristers1 so as to excite his imitative faculty to the utmost4 ,twenty boys is the full number1 but only twelve of these are full choristers1 the others being nominally on probation1 a plan which serves to keep up the discipline4 ,,lincoln',s ,,inn ,,chapel4 ,there are twelve boys here4 ,they come1 with a fair knowledge of music1 at about nine years of age1 and receive from ,dr4 ,steggall1 or his assistants1 three lessons of about two hours each every week4 ,on ,sunday1 at the close of the morning service1 there is a rehearsal with the men of the music for the afternoon1 and for the morning of the following ,sunday4 ,the boys' practices are held in the choir-room1 where ,dr4 ,steggall1 seated at a venerable ,broadwood grand1 coaches his little men1 with care and neatness4 ,on ,saturdays1 when half their lesson is done1 the boys walk across to the chapel1 and go through the ,sunday's music with the organ4 ,a pupil mounts to the instrument1 while ,dr4 ,steggall1 book in hand1 paces the aisle1 or retires towards the communion table1 constantly interrupting the singing to correct faults1 or improve delivery4 ,meanwhile1 the organ is played quite softly1 that the voices may stand out clearly4 ,constant care is taken to prevent clipping of words in the most familiar parts of the service4 ,,the ,,temple ,,church4 ,dr4 ,e4 ,j4 ,hopkins1 himself an ex-choir-boy of the ,chapel ,royal1 realises here his ideal of quality1 not quantity4 ,he lays stress on the fact that he takes his boys at eight years of age4 ,for a year or more1 however1 they are probationers4 ,they do not wear surplices1 although they sit close to the choir4 ,they undergo daily drill in musical theory and voice-training1 but in church they have no responsibility1 and do little more than listen4 ,when1 however1 the voice of one of the elder boys breaks1 a probationer takes his place1 and is much better for the training4 ,the practices occupy an hour-and-a-half every afternoon4 ,they are held in the little choir vestry1 near the organ1 where there is a cottage pianoforte1 flanked by a couple of long music desks1 at which the boys stand as they sing4 ,they are taught in groups1 according to the stage they have reached1 and spend the lesson time in practising scales1 voice exercises1 pieces of music1 and studying notation4 ,the voices are practised up to ,a4 ,on ,saturdays there is a rehearsal in the church1 with the organ and the men of the choir4 ,,lincoln ,,cathedral4 ,the choir here1 directed by the venerable organist1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,w4 ,m4 ,young1 is noted for its chanting1 which all choirmasters ought to hear4 ,mr4 ,young has made a special study of the ,psalms1 and changes speed and force frequently with the change of attitude in the psalmist4 ,the recitation is delivered at the pace of ordinary speech1 with elocutionary pauses as needed2 it is sung neither faster nor slower than the cadence4 ,hence the whole effect is reverent and impressive4 ,mr4 ,young's published ,psalter and ,chants 7,novello7 should be studied1 but the great excellence of his work can only be appreciated by a visit to ,lincoln4 ,all compilers of ,psalters make rules1 but ,mr4 ,young carries them out4 ,mr4 ,young1 who was a choir-boy at ,durham more than fifty years ago1 under ,henshaw1 tells me that it was no uncommon thing in his day for the boys to have three practices--#h4cj to #aj1 #aa to #ab1 and #f to #h4 ,this in addition to the two daily services4 ,the elder boys had to attend all2 the younger were excused the evening practice4 ,as far as ,i know1 we have no such severe training now4 ,mr4 ,young likes to get his boys at eight2 for two years1 although they wear surplices1 they do not sing4 ,the sixteen boys receive free education1 and board1 pocket-money1 and a present of #aj when their voices break4 ,the younger boys are called choristers1 and wear surplices4 ,the four senior boys are called ,burgersh-chanters1 and wear black cassocks of a peculiar shape4 ,in the town they are familiarly known as black boys4 ,the choristers attend a day-school with other boys who speak the ,lincolnshire dialect2 in this they suffer1 for1 as ,mr4 ,young says1 purity of vowels and beauty of tone go together4 ,one of his maxims is1 use the lips as little as possible in singing2 do all you can with the tongue4 ,if you use the lips1 then use them rapidly4 ,the boys practise an hour-and-a-half each day4 ,mr4 ,young puts a high finish on all his work4 ,mozart's ,ave ,verum was sung on the day of my visit with infinite refinement4 ,at one point the boys took a portamento--a grace which very few choirmasters would attempt with boys4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,black ,,boy ,,at ,,lincoln ,,cathedral4 ,photographed by ,mr4 ,george ,hadley1 ,lincoln4 ,,christ ,,church1 ,,oxford4 ,the boys rehearse in a small but lofty room4 ,there is a double row of desks and seats down each side1 facing each other4 ,dr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,lloyd sits at a small pianoforte1 placed across one end of the seats1 thus commanding all the boys with his eye4 ,the tuning-up exercises lasted ten minutes1 and began with this exercise to ah3-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,c4 d#a3t4ls4f3m4rd3r4mf4s3l4td#a3--3- ,this exercise1 begun in ,c1 was carried up gradually to ,bb above4 ,it was sung first with a dim4 going down1 and a cres4 going up1 and then the opposite4 ,then came an ascending1 followed by a descending scale1 similarly varied in key and expression4 ,the next exercise was-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,c4 d4m3r4m d4m3r4m d4m3r4m d3-- which was transposed gradually upwards1 being sung to ah4 ,next a triplet exercise-- ,illustration3 ,,key ,f4 d t#a d r d r to d#a r#a d#a t d#a t ,at the higher part the second trebles sang a third below4 ,then followed the chromatic scale1 up and down4 ,dr4 ,lloyd is not troubled much with flattening2 when it occurs the men are more likely to cause it than the boys4 ,they habitually sing the ,litany1 which lasts fifteen minutes1 unaccompanied1 and if they flatten at all1 it is not more than a semitone4 ,there is an unaccompanied service once a week4 ,i noticed that breathing-places were marked in the anthems1 and notes likely to give trouble were marked with a circle4 ,dr4 ,lloyd was by no means tied to the pianoforte during rehearsal1 and frequently left his seat1 and paced up and down1 beating time while the singing went on4 ,theoretical questions on the pieces in hand were addressed to individual boys4 ,these boys are the sons of professional men1 and come from all parts of the country4 ,there are now three undergraduates at ,christ ,church1 who have been choir-boys4 ,in the choir1 on the day of my visit1 was a boy of seventeen1 who had sung for nine years2 his voice had not yet begun to go4 ,the curious custom is observed here of dividing the ,psalms 7between ,decani and ,cantoris7 at the colon1 instead of at the verse4 ,it requires great readiness1 and for those ,psalms which are written in parallelisms1 it is most effective4 ,,canterbury ,,cathedral4 ,the boys here are divided into ten choristers and fourteen probationers4 ,the choristers are on the foundation1 and receive a stipend2 the probationers get their schooling only4 ,the choristers wear trencher caps and gowns2 the probationers flannel caps1 bearing the arms of the cathedral4 ,the boys are nearly all from the city2 there is no boarding-school4 ,the lower floor of the choir-school is used for the ordinary instruction1 which is conducted by ,mr4 ,plant1 an alto in the cathedral choir1 and the upper floor is used as a music-room4 ,here the boys receive four or five lessons a week from ,dr4 ,longhurst1 and the probationers have also a lesson by themselves4 ,all the choristers learn the violin2 this has been the practice for many years4 ,when1 at festivals1 there is a band in the cathedral1 the strings are made up largely from old choristers1 most of whom go into business in the city4 ,a system of rotation is adopted2 thus1 although there are twenty-four boys1 not more than fourteen sing at any one service1 the rest are at work at their ordinary lessons4 ,a considerable drainage of boys takes place to the ,king's ,school1 the leading grammar school in ,canterbury4 ,the choristers often leave to enter this school when their voices are in their prime4 ,dr4 ,longhurst takes the boys very young2 as soon after seven as possible4 ,in choosing a boy1 he requires both voice and ear to be good4 ,sometimes a boy excels in the one direction and not in the other2 he can sing sweetly1 but cannot imitate notes struck at random on the pianoforte1 or else he has a poor voice and a good ear4 ,but both endowments are necessary for a chorister4 ,dr4 ,longhurst1 who was himself a boy at ,canterbury1 had a compass at that time of two-and-a-half octaves4 ,as his voice changed he passed from first to second treble1 then sang alto for seven years1 and at last settled to tenor4 ,he does not regard boy altos as desirable in cathedrals1 but in parish churches1 where no adult male altos are to be had1 they are1 no doubt1 in place4 ,dr4 ,longhurst tells me that as a result of forty-eight years' experience1 he can tell by the look of a boy whether he will make a chorister4 ,there is something about the brows and eyes1 and general contour of the face which guides him4 ,he is never mistaken4 ,some time since a clergyman with whom ,dr4 ,longhurst happened to be staying1 ridiculed the idea that the musical capability of boys can be judged by their looks4 ,he took ,dr4 ,longhurst into the village school1 and invited him to pick out the boys of the choir as they sat among others at their lessons4 ,this ,dr4 ,longhurst did quite correctly4 ,he has no knowledge of phrenology1 and the faculty has come to him simply as the result of long experience4 ,on the day of my visit ,i heard the boys practise in their lofty music-room4 ,dr4 ,longhurst sat at the grand pianoforte1 and the boys were grouped in fours or fives round four music-stands1 on which the large folio voice parts1 in type or ,,ms41 were placed4 ,these desks stood on either side of the piano1 so that the boys looked towards ,dr4 ,longhurst4 ,not many voice exercises are used1 nor is there any talk about the registers4 ,pure tone is required1 and the boys have not to reason why4 ,six or seven of the youngest boys took no part in the practice of the service music4 ,when the elder boys had done1 the younger came forward and sang some solfeggio exercises4 ,as a help in keeping time the boys clapped their hands sometimes at the first of the bar1 and beat the pulses of the music4 ,in the single voice parts1 with long rests1 this is a help4 ,the boys do not sing any secular music4 ,at one time they did1 but now1 with the schooling1 the ordinary practices1 and the violin lessons1 there is no time4 ,flattening does not often occur4 ,as a rule1 when they intone on ,g1 the ,g remains to the end4 ,the practice of singing the service unaccompanied on ,fridays all the year round1 and on ,wednesdays in addition during ,lent1 must have a bracing effect on the choir4 ,i was myself present on a ,wednesday in ,lent1 and could detect no falling in pitch4 ,the boys at ,canterbury do not appear to receive much formal voice-training1 and ,i attribute the excellent quality of their singing to two facts4 ,first1 ,dr4 ,longhurst has evidently a knack of discerning a promising voice2 and second1 having established a tradition of good singing1 the boys1 entering at an early age1 insensibly fall into it4 ,,dr4 ,,buck',s ,,boys ,,at ,,norwich4 ,i have gathered from ,mr4 ,a4 ,r4 ,gaul1 ,mus4,b41 of ,birmingham1 some particulars of the work of ,dr4 ,buck1 organist of ,norwich ,cathedral1 who was known forty or fifty years ago all over the country as a trainer of boys' voices4 ,mr4 ,gaul was a boy at ,norwich under ,dr4 ,buck1 and underwent the ,spartan training which produced such notable results4 ,no chest voice above ,f or ,g was his rule1 and the flute-like voice1 which goes by so many names1 and is yet so unmistakable when heard1 was developed in all the choristers4 ,dr4 ,buck had an endless number of contrivances for teaching his boys right ways4 ,each of them carried about him a pocket looking-glass1 and at practice was taught to hold it in his hand1 and watch his mouth as he sang4 ,one finger on top of the other was the gauge for opening the mouth transversely1 while nuts were held in the cheeks to secure its proper longitudinal opening4 ,to look at the boys during this exercise1 one might think they had the face-ache6 ,however1 no joking over these matters was allowed2 there was a penny fine for forgetting the looking-glass once1 and a twopenny fine for forgetting it a second time4 ,to prevent the use of too much breath in singing1 ,dr4 ,buck would take a piece of tissue paper1 the size of a postage stamp1 hang it by a fine thread in front of the mouth1 and make the boys sing to it without blowing it away4 ,tongue-drill consisted in regular motions of the unruly member1 until the boys were able to make it lie flat down at the bottom of the mouth1 and raise it to the upper teeth as required4 ,it was a daily plan to practise certain passages with the lips entirely closed1 this was done to prevent the objectionable quality of voice resulting from any stoppage of the nasal organs4 ,there was no sol-faing2 various words were used at scale-practice1 chosen to develop the vowels1 while a code of troublesome words and endings of words was drawn up1 and repeated daily by the boys in the speaking-voice1 so as to secure clear enunciation4 ,i have more than once seen and heard it stated that ,dr4 ,buck used to make his boys sing through the nose1 with closed mouth1 in order to get the higher register1 but ,mr4 ,gaul does not remember this4 ,dr4 ,haydn ,keeton informs me that they had boy-altos at ,norwich in ,dr4 ,buck's time1 so that he must have had more boys than usual to train4 ,,salisbury4 ,a conversation with ,mr4 ,c4 ,l4 ,south1 the organist and choirmaster1 shows him to be a careful and able worker4 ,the boys1 who are boarded in the choir school1 come from various parts4 ,they are received at from #h to #aa years2 not over #aa unless the boy is very good and forward in music4 ,the boys are chosen for their voices1 but given two boys of equal voices1 the one who knows most music would be selected4 ,the music practice is an hour a day for five days of the week1 under ,mr4 ,south himself4 ,i recognise1 he says1 two registers in boys' voices1 chest and head1 and with careful practice you can get the voices so even that you can hardly tell where one ends and the other begins4 ,the great thing1 ,i believe1 is to make the boys sing softly1 and to get their register even throughout4 ,mr4 ,south adds that the imitative power of boys is so strong that the younger ones fall into the habits of the elder ones1 and thus make formal teaching about the registers less necessary4 ,for vocal practice he uses ,stainer's and ,concone's ,exercises1 also solos like ,jesus1 ,saviour1 ,i am ,thine1 and ,let the ,saviour's outstretched arm 7both from ,bach's ,passion71 as well as ,handel's ,rejoice greatly1 besides florid choruses from the ,messiah4 ,these are more interesting than formal studies1 and they bring out the same points of breathing1 phrasing1 pronunciation1 and expression4 ,he sometimes introduces a song of this kind into the service as an anthem4 ,on one occasion1 when thirteen boys had sung one of the ,bach songs in unison1 a member of the congregation asked the name of the soloist4 ,the voices were so perfectly blended that they sounded like one4 ,the full number of boys is eighteen1 of whom two at least sing solos4 ,mr4 ,south does not use nor like boy altos4 ,the service music is selected on eclectic principles1 and covers the ground from ,gibbons to ,villiers ,stanford4 ,the boys sometimes give concerts1 performing such cantatas as ,smart's ,king ,rene's ,daughter1 and ,mendelssohn's ,two-part ,songs4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,practice ,,of ,,various ,,choirmasters ,,in ,,parish ,,churches4 ,in the course of journeys and interviews extending over many years ,i have gathered much experience from choirmasters1 and have watched and noted their plans4 ,here follow some of the results of this work4 ,the churches described are some of them small1 and but little known4 ,this fact1 however1 does not affect the value of the experience4 ,the highest degree of credit is due to the choirmaster who obtains good results from poor materials1 and this book is especially intended to help those who have to make the best of ordinary opportunities4 ,,leeds ,,parish ,,church4 ,this church has long been noted for its music1 which is sung in cathedral style4 ,there are about thirty boys1 whose voices1 even up to ,a1 are round and clear1 and throughout are big1 true1 and rich4 ,notable features of the style of the choir under ,dr4 ,creser1 are the long dim4 cadences in responses1 and the independence which enables the singers to go on without the organ1 if the expression suggests it4 ,at the rehearsal in the parochial room ,dr4 ,creser sits at the grand piano with the boys in their cantoris and decani places on each side of him just as in church4 ,the boys rehearse five days a week after evensong1 and the juniors have an additional practice4 ,after ,saturday evensong there is a full practice with the men4 ,all the boys are trebles4 ,yorkshire is about the only district in ,england which produces adult male altos4 ,the boys are chiefly promoted from district churches4 ,they live at their homes1 and receive a free education--the seniors in the ,leeds middle-class school1 and the juniors in the parish church school4 ,there is also a small salary paid quarterly1 and when a boy leaves he receives from #ae to #be if an ordinary chorister1 and #ej if a good solo boy4 ,fines are imposed by the precentor for misbehaviour or mischievous tricks in church or precincts1 but not for mistakes in singing4 ,dr4 ,creser teaches sight-singing on the lines of ,curwen's ,how to ,read ,music4 ,the boys use the old notation1 but have learnt it through ,tonic ,sol-fa1 using the course entitled ,crotchets and ,quavers4 ,occasionally the whole rehearsal consists of sol-faing4 ,in every difficulty as to key relationship the ,sol-fa makes matters clear4 ,dr4 ,creser was first led to use ,tonic ,sol-fa by noticing how easy it made the minor mode4 ,the junior boys are always taught by ,dr4 ,creser4 ,until the voices settle he would on no account delegate them to an assistant4 ,the two chief rules of voice-training are to forbid forcing the chest register above ,illustration3 a music staff with a treble clef and a whole note ,e on the first line4 and to begin scales at the top4 ,flattening takes place occasionally1 but it is nearly always the fault of the congregation1 who drag the pitch down4 ,the arrangement of the music-library here is a model of order4 ,,st4 ,,peter',s1 ,,eaton ,,square1 ,,london4 ,here1 under the direction of ,mr4 de ,manby ,sergison1 a very fine ,anglican service is maintained4 ,there are twenty boys1 and a few probationers4 ,the boys have an hour's practice every day1 and sing the ,psalms and a hymn at the daily choral service4 ,formerly a choir boarding-school was kept up1 but this was abolished1 being found to be too expensive4 ,now the boys are selected from schools in and near the parish1 and ,mr4 ,sergison finds the ordinary ,london boy equal to all the demands of the church4 ,when the choir-school was given up he was able within a month to prepare an entirely new set of boys1 so proficient that the congregation scarcely noticed a difference4 ,the vocal practice of the boys includes ,concone's ,exercises1 and their phrasing in the service music is very good4 ,the full choir sings on ,sundays and ,saints' ,days1 and their rehearsal takes place once a week in the church1 ,mr4 ,sergison being at the organ4 ,in the chapter on the management of choir-boys ,i have quoted some wise remarks by ,mr4 ,sergison1 which explain his success as a choirmaster4 ,,st4 ,,mark',s ,,college1 ,,chelsea4 ,this is a ,training ,college for schoolmasters1 which has long been noted for its musical services4 ,mr4 ,owen ,breden1 the present organist and choirmaster1 is the successor of ,dr4 ,hullah1 ,mr4 ,may1 and the ,rev4 ,f4 ,helmore4 ,the choir-boys1 who number #bf1 only sing on ,sundays4 ,they are drawn from the practicing school1 which contains #hjj boys4 ,they enter the choir at nine years of age1 and there are always six or eight probationers1 who attend the practices and are ready to fill vacancies4 ,thus a good style of singing is maintained4 ,people say to ,mr4 ,breden1 ,there is no telling one voice from another1 your boys are so much alike4 ,at the bi-weekly practice with ,mr4 ,breden the boys have voice-training4 ,they sing to la and sol-fa syllables scales gradually rising4 ,they are not trained above ,g1 but if a boy has a good ,g he can always go higher4 ,the boys can all read from the ,sol-fa modulator1 and ,mr4 ,breden gives them ear-tests4 ,the alto part is taken entirely by boys at ,st4 ,mark's4 ,the choir-boys1 past and present1 perform an operetta in costume every ,christmas4 ,anthems like ,macfarren's ,the ,lord is my ,shepherd1 ,bennett's ,god is a ,spirit1 ,goss's ,o ,saviour of the world1 c41 are sung unaccompanied4 ,in fact1 whenever the organ part merely duplicates the voices1 they take the opportunity at ,st4 ,mark's to enjoy the pure chording of human voices4 ,,st4 ,,mary',s ,,church1 ,,berlin4 ,my friend1 ,herr ,th4 ,krause1 the organist and choirmaster of this church1 allowed me to attend a rehearsal of the eighty boys and twenty men who form his fine choir4 ,the large number of boys is explained by the fact that nearly half of them are altos4 ,the motet of the ,lutheran church is invariably unaccompanied4 ,it closely resembles in form our anthem1 but the ,german ,protestants look upon the a capella style1 which continues the tradition of the ,sistine ,chapel at ,rome1 as the purest and highest in church music4 ,on no account would they use the organ to accompany a motet4 ,this gives rise to elaborate compositions1 often like ,mendelssohn's ,judge me1 ,o ,god1 in eight parts4 ,by treating the boys and men as separate choirs1 each in four parts1 and getting responses between them1 a variety of tone colour1 which is almost orchestral1 is obtained2 and when both choirs unite in solid eight-part harmony1 the result is imposing4 ,as the ,germans are usually not sight-singers1 the labour involved in learning these motets is immense4 ,the higher register of the boys is well trained4 ,they sing up to ,b flat without effort1 and with purest tone4 ,the same may be said of the ,dom ,choir1 for which ,mendelssohn wrote his motets4 ,at my last visit to ,leipzig1 ,i carried an introduction to ,dr4 ,rust1 trainer of the ,thomas ,church choir1 but ,i was there just after ,whitsuntide1 when the yearly shifting of classes had just taken place1 and ,dr4 ,rust1 who wished me to hear his boys at their best1 asked me not to come to a rehearsal4 ,speaking generally1 the voices of ,german boys are thinner than those of ,english boys1 more like fifes than flutes4 ,,st4 ,,clement ,,danes1 ,,strand4 ,the choirmaster here1 ,mr4 ,f4 ,j4 ,knapp1 is also master of the parish day school4 ,here he insists on quiet singing1 and stops coarseness directly4 ,the boys are taught on the ,tonic ,sol-fa system1 which1 says ,mr4 ,knapp1 has alone enabled him to produce his results4 ,some time ago at ,st4 ,stephens1 ,walworth1 he was called upon to produce a choir in a week1 and he did this1 by nightly rehearsals1 to the satisfaction of everyone4 ,complete oratorios1 with band1 were frequently given by this choir of sol-faists4 ,at ,st4 ,clement ,danes he had to produce a choir in five days1 and here again he succeeded by the use of ,tonic ,sol-fa4 ,our choir-boys1 he says1 can now sing at sight almost anything ,i put before them4 ,we never have more than two or three practices 7one only1 full7 for the most difficult anthems we do4 ,there is an anthem every ,sunday1 a choral communion once a month1 offertory sentences on alternate ,sundays1 cantatas and oratorios at ,festivals4 ,mr4 ,knapp adopts the useful plan of tuning-up his boys before the morning service4 ,flattening1 when it occurs1 is due1 he considers1 to damp weather1 a cold church1 c4 ,but he is rarely troubled with it4 ,the boys' voice exercises are taken at the harmonium1 first slow notes to koo-ah1 or to oo-ay-ah-ee1 or to a sentence containing consonants4 ,this exercise is done both ascending and descending1 but especially descending4 ,he also uses the chromatic scale from ,b flat up to ,f3--,illustration3 ,a music staff with a treble clef on the left4 ,two quarter notes3 ,b flat below the staff and ,f on the top line4 ,he tells the boys nothing about the registers1 but watches constantly against shouting4 ,,salzungen ,,choir4 ,this 7,protestant7 choir of men and boys is well-known in ,germany1 and not only sings at ,salzungen1 but occasionally makes tours1 and gives concerts4 ,herr ,mhlfeld1 the trainer1 tells me that he takes the boys from #aa years of age upwards1 and that before entering the choir they have a fair knowledge of notes1 and can sing at sight4 ,the voices are examined on entry1 low ones being put to sing alto1 and high ones being put to sing soprano4 ,the boys have two lessons of an hour each per week1 in which they practise exercises1 chorle1 school songs1 and church music4 ,flattening1 according to ,herr ,mhlfeld1 is due to 7#a7 bad ear1 7#b7 imperfect training1 7#c7 fatigue of the voice4 ,the boys are taught to listen to each note that they sing1 and to make it blend with the instrument or the leading voice4 ,in order to do this they must sing softly1 and thus hear their neighbours' voices4 ,the #crd1 #fth1 #gth1 and #hth tones of the scale are1 says ,herr ,mhlfeld1 often sung flat1 and exercises should be specially given to secure the intonation of these sounds4 ,the boys must also learn the intervals1 and whenever they appear to be tired a pause must be made4 ,,upton ,,cross ,,board ,,school4 ,this is not a church1 but a boys' school1 from which a good many choristers are drawn1 and where excellent results have been obtained4 ,the boys have often won prizes in choral competitions4 ,mr4 ,h4 ,a4 ,donald1 the headmaster1 tells me that he examines the voices of the boys one by one in his own room1 once a year4 ,those who can take ,g and ,a ,illustration3 musical notation sweetly and easily are put down as first trebles4 ,those who can go below ,c ,illustration3 musical notation are altos4 ,the rest are second trebles4 ,he finds that after a year a boy's voice will often have changed--a treble become an alto1 or vice versa4 ,in modulator practice1 and as far as possible in pieces of music1 he keeps the trebles above ,illustration3 musical notation4 ,below this they get coarse4 ,he never gives on the modulator an ascending passage which begins below this ,g4 ,one may leap up1 and come down by step1 but not ascend by step4 ,he uses ,mr4 ,proudman's ,voice-training ,exercises 7,j4 ,curwen ,sons7 for first trebles1 and his contralto exercises for contraltos4 ,coarseness he checks at once1 and he silences boys whose voices are breaking4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,alto ,,boys4 ,how is the alto part1 in a church choir consisting of males1 to be sung8 ,in our cathedrals this part has been given1 ever since the ,restoration1 to adult men1 generally with bass voices singing in their thin register4 ,for this voice our composers of the ,english cathedral school wrote1 carrying the part much lower than they would have done if they had been writing for women or boy-singers4 ,for this voice1 also1 ,handel wrote1 and the listener at the ,handel ,festival cannot but feel the strength and resonance which the large number of men altos give to the harmony when the range of the part is low4 ,the voice of the man alto1 however1 was never common1 and is becoming less common than it was4 ,it occupies a curious position1 never having been recognised as a solo voice4 ,i have heard of an exceptionally good man alto at ,birmingham who was accustomed to sing songs at concerts1 but this is an isolated case4 ,the voice seems to have been generally confined to choral music4 ,this voice is entirely an ,english institution1 unknown on the continent4 ,historians say that after the ,restoration1 when it was very difficult to obtain choir-boys1 adult men learned to sing alto1 and even low treble parts1 in falsetto1 in order to make harmony possible4 ,let us concede at once that for music of the old cathedral school this voice is in place4 ,the churches are1 however1 getting more and more eclectic1 and are singing music from oratorios1 cantatas1 and masses that was composed for women altos1 and is far too high in compass for men4 ,we may admit that because the alto part lies so much upon the break into the thick or chest register of boys1 it is very difficult to get them to sing it well4 ,the dilemma is that in parish churches1 especially in country places1 the adult male alto is not to be had1 and the choice is between boy altos1 and no altos at all4 ,there is no doubt1 moreover1 that the trouble of voice-management in boy altos can be conquered by watchfulness and care4 ,at the present time there are1 as the information ,i have collected shows1 a number of very good cathedral and church choirs in which the alto part is being sustained by boys4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following is from ,mr4 ,james ,taylor1 organist and choirmaster of ,new ,college1 ,oxford3-- ,new ,college1 ,oxford1 ,dec4 #ac1 #ahij4 ,dear ,sir1--,in reply to your letter1 ,i can confidently recommend boy altos in parish or other choirs1 provided they are carefully trained4 ,we have introduced them into this choir for more than two years1 and the experiment has fully come up to my expectations4 ,we still retain two men altos in our choir1 which now consists of the following3--,fourteen trebles1 four boy altos1 two men altos1 four tenors1 and four basses4 ,i find boy altos very effective in modern church music1 such as ,mendelssohn's anthems1 c41 where the alto part is written much higher than is the case in the old cathedral music4 ,yours very truly1 ,,james ,,taylor4 ,dr4 ,garrett1 organist of ,st4 ,john's ,college1 ,cambridge1 writes3-- #e1 ,park ,side1 ,cambridge1 ,dec4 #ab1 #ahij4 ,dear ,mr4 ,curwen1--,i have had boy altos only in my choir for some years4 ,i introduced them of necessity in the first instance4 ,the stipend of a lay clerk was too small to attract any other than a local candidate1 and no suitable man was to be found4 ,if ,i could have really first-class adult altos in my choir ,i should not think of using boys' voices4 ,at the same time there are some advantages on the side of boys' voices4 ,i4 ,unless the adult alto voice is really pure and good1 and its possessor a skilled singer1 it is too often unbearable4 ,,ii4 ,under the most favourable conditions it is very rare1 according to my experience1 to find an alto voice retaining its best qualities after middle age4 ,,iii4 ,the alto voice is undoubtedly becoming rare4 ,on the other side you have to consider3-- ,i4 ,the limitation of choice in music1 as there is a good deal of 'cathedral music' in which the alto part is beyond the range of any boy's voice4 ,,ii4 ,a certain lack of brightness in the upper part of such trios as those in ',by the waters of ,babylon' 7,boyce7 ',the wilderness' 7,goss71 and many like movements4 ,as regards the break question1 the advantage1 in my experience1 is wholly on the boys' side4 ,a well-trained boy will sing such a solo as ',o thou that tellest1' or such a passage as the following without letting his break be felt at all3 ,illustration3 ,for ,thou hast been my hope1 hast been my hope4 ,this passage1,b which is from the anthem1 ',hear my crying1' by ,weldon1 ,i have heard sung by an adult alto1 who broke badly between ,e flat and ,f4 ,the effect was funny beyond description4 ,in fact1 if a boys' break is about ,c or ,d 7#crd space or #dth line71 and he ,illustration3 musical notation is never allowed to practise above that1 there will be no question of break arising4 ,my alto boys can get a good round ,g1 and five out of the six can go up without break to ,c4 ,illustration3 musical notation ,the advantage of this in chanting the ,psalms is obvious4 ,what can an adult alto be expected to do in a case where the reciting note is close to his break8 ,these are considerations which may fairly be taken into account even when the decision is to be made between possible courses2 when there is a choice4 ,in many cases there is none4 ,it must be 7as you say7 boy alto1 or no alto4 ,i am quite sure that careful training is all that is needed to make boy altos most efficient members of a choir4 ,or rather1 ,i ought to say that careful selection and training are both needed4 ,to take a young boy as an alto because he happens to have three or four raucous notes from1 say1 ,b flat to ,e flat ,illustration3 musical notation while he has a bad break between ,e flat ,illustration3 musical notation and ,f is1 of course1 to court failure4 ,i prefer taking a boy whose break lies higher1 and training his voice downwards4 ,if1 as a probationer1 he can get a fairly good round ,b natural ,illustration3 musical notation or ,b flat2 lower notes can certainly be produced as he grows older4 ,yours very truly1 ,,george ,,garrett4 ,b ,i have transposed the passage from the alto clef4--,j4 ,s4 ,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a remark may be interposed here that from a physiological point of view we must expect voices of different pitch in boys1 just as in girls1 women1 and men4 ,boys differ in height1 size1 and in the pitch of the speaking voice1 which is a sure guide to the pitch of the singing voice4 ,there is thus no physiological ground for supposing all boys to be trebles4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following letter is from the ,rev4 ,w4 ,e4 ,dickson1 ,precentor of ,ely3-- ,the ,college1 ,ely1 ,october #cjth1 #ahij4 ,dear ,sir1--,i have much pleasure in replying to your note4 ,if ,i resolved to do so in a few words ,i should be obliged to say that seldom indeed do ,i hear boy altos sing with sweet voices and true intonation1 either in my own country1 or in those foreign countries in which ,i am in the habit of taking my holidays4 ,but ,i should like to be allowed to explain that1 in my opinion1 the coarseness 7at any rate7 of boy-altos in ,english choirs is due to mismanagement by the choirmaster4 ,his usual plan is to turn over to the alto part boys who are losing their upper notes by the natural failure of their soprano voices4 ,this saves trouble1 for such boys probably read music well enough1 and they are simply told to 'sing alto1' and are left to do so without further training1 until they can croak out no more ugly noises4 ,surely this is quite a mistake4 ,am ,i not right in maintaining that a perfect choir should consist of ,,first ,,trebles ,,tenors ,,second ,,trebles ,,basses well balanced as to numbers1 and all singing with pure natural quality8 ,if ,i am1 then it follows that the second trebles should be precisely equal to the firsts in number and strength1 and should include boys of various ages1 as carefully selected and as assiduously trained as the others4 ,i cannot but think--and1 indeed1 ,i perfectly well know--that where this has been done by a skilful teacher1 whose heart is in his work1 boy altos have been made to sing with sweetness and accuracy4 ,you will probably agree with me--though this is quite by the way--that secular music should be largely used by such a teacher4 ,the part-songs of ,mendelssohn1 for instance1 should be trolled out by the two sets of boys1 who may even interchange their parts at practice with the best results4 ,but of course this is said only in reference to choirs of a high class4 ,i do not deny that even the best teaching and the best management will not secure quite the same timbre which you get in choirs with falsetti in the alto part4 ,a certain silvery sweetness is obtained from these voices to which our ,english ears have become accustomed1 and which we should miss if boys1 however well-trained1 took their places4 ,in the ,preces1 ,versicles1 ,litany1 c41 of the ,english ,choral ,service1 we should be conscious of a loss4 ,in cathedrals1 too1 the complete shelving of some or even many compositions1 favourites by long association1 if not by intrinsic merit1 would be inevitable4 ,but ,i am unable to doubt for a moment that when the change had been made1 and time had been given for the new order of things1 under a thoroughly competent musician1 we should not regret it4 ,at ,ely we have ten men in daily attendance2 fourteen on ,sundays4 ,we keep twenty boys in training4 ,if this vocal body were thus distributed3-- #aj ,,first ,,trebles #e ,,tenors 7#f on ,sunday7 #aj ,,second ,,trebles #e ,,basses 7#h on ,sunday7 we should certainly be stronger and healthier in tone and quality than we are now1 with a disproportionate number of trebles1 thus3-- #bj ,,trebles #c #d ,,tenors #c #d ,,altos #d #f ,,basses ,as to rustic choirs in village churches1 ,i fear the case is hopeless1 and ,i myself should be glad to see editions of well-known hymn-tunes and chants in three parts only--treble1 tenor1 and bass4 ,handel wrote some truly grand choruses in three parts in his ',chandos ,anthems4' ,but his tenor part is not for every-day voices6 ,believe me1 truly yours1 ,w4 ,e4 ,,dickson4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following1 from ,dr4 ,haydn ,keeton1 organist of ,peterborough ,cathedral1 is against boy altos3-- ,thorpe ,road1 ,peterborough1 ,december #abth1 #ahij4 ,dear ,sir1--,i have had about eighteen years' experience with alto boys1 and although ,i have had some exceedingly good ones1 one or two as good as it is possible1 ,i think1 to have1 yet ,i must say that1 in my opinion1 it is a bad system to substitute boys for men1 especially in cathedral music4 ,the reason why the change was made here was that about the year #ahgb three of our men altos were failing1 and ,i happened to have three boys with good low voices1 who took alto well4 ,in consenting to this change ,i had no idea of its being a permanent one1 but owing to the agricultural depression our ,chapter have been quite prevented doing what they would like to do with the choir4 ,the general effect of the change has been this--that ,i have been always weak in trebles4 ,we are limited to ,peterborough for our choristers1 and1 as a rule1 there is not one boy in a hundred who knows even his notes when he enters the choir4 ,it takes from eighteen months to two years for a boy to learn his work1 and it is not until a boy is at least twelve that one can turn him into an alto4 ,the result is that four of my senior boys have to be turned into altos1 and ,i am left with a preponderance of young1 inexperienced boys as trebles4 ,at the present time ,i have twelve trebles1 eight of whom are quite young4 ,in addition1 see what extra work is involved in teaching the boys to sing alto4 ,some boys do not take to alto very easily1 and the extra work given to the altos means that quantity taken from the trebles4 ,i am unable1 in consequence1 to give the necessary time to the elementary work that one ought to give4 ,we can only get one hour's practice in the day1 owing to the boys going to school4 ,then1 again1 as to tone4 ,the tone of a choir with men altos1 if they are at all fairly good1 is so much superior to one with boy altos4 ,in cathedral music so many anthems and services have trios for ,a4,t4,b4 ,there is not one boy in a thousand who can sing the trio in ',o where shall wisdom' 7,boyce7 with a tenor and bass effectively4 ,and how many there are similar to that6 ,i do not see how boys could work at all in ordinary parish choirs1 for here there are not the opportunities of teaching boys to read well at sight4 ,it is only by daily practice that one can make anything of boys4 ,yours faithfully1 ,h4 ,,keeton4 ,dr4 ,frank ,bates1 organist of ,norwich ,cathedral1 has favoured me with a copy of a paper on the boy's voice1 in which he says3-- ,the compass of a boy's voice when properly developed is from ,illustration3 ,c to ,a ,bb or ,c ,the chest or lower register extends from ,illustration3 ,c to ,c or ,d ,the head or upper register extends from ,illustration3 ,c or ,d to ,bb or ,c ,no fixed compass can possibly be given to the different registers1 as the older a boy becomes the lower the change occurs2 the head register often being used as low down as ,a4 ,illustration3 musical notation ,in a letter to me ,dr4 ,bates says3-- ,i quite think that1 for ordinary parish church services1 the effect of boy altos1 if properly taught1 is all that one can desire4 ,in reply to my remark that the break comes in so awkwardly for boy altos1 ,dr4 ,bates says3-- ,i fail to understand the reason you quote for the non-usage of boy altos4 ,there is no change whatever in a boy's voice1 in its normal state1 until ,illustration3 musical notation is reached4 ,if the change is made lower down all the brilliancy is taken out of a boy's voice4 ,as a boy gets older he uses the upper register much lower down4 ,i have known boys at the age of eighteen with lovely top notes but very poor chest register4 ,in such cases1 when a boy's top register commences at ,illustration3 ,g ,i can quite understand the difficulty4 ,there is evidently some conflict of nomenclature here1 as the limits of the registers as given by ,dr4 ,bates differ considerably from those which are usual4 ,i am glad to learn that ,dr4 ,bates is writing a book on ,the ,voices of ,boys1 which will no doubt clear up the subject4 ,in the paper before me he recommends practice of the scales to such syllables as ,la1 ,fa1 ,ta1 ,pa1 in order to bring the tone well to the front of the mouth1 and reinforce it by means of the soft upper palate4 ,he recommends the teacher to train the boys to use the upper register by making them sing over and over again1 very softly1 the following notes3-- ,illustration3 ,chest ,head ,ah4444 ,here again the transition seems to me to be taken much too high4 ,mr4 ,frank ,sharp1 of ,dundee1 trainer of the celebrated children's choir1 which has sung the treble and alto parts1 both solos and choruses1 of ,messiah1 ,st4 ,paul1 and many cantatas1 writes to me3-- ,in part-singing where there are boy trebles1 the adult male alto voice has its charms4 ,the contrast in quality between the open tone of the boys' voices and the condensed1 sometimes squeaky sweetness of the man alto does not affect the blending1 and helps the distinctness of parts4 ,considering the growing scarcity of this latter voice1 why not use boy altos8 ,they can be made as effective as ordinary women altos1 but they are as short-lived and need more attention than the boy trebles4 ,their chief drawback is a tendency to produce tone without the least attention to quality or effect save that of noise4 ,nevertheless1 there is nothing to hinder boy altos doing all that is necessary1 or1 indeed1 all that can be done by the adult male alto4 ,i have trained boys to sing alto in ,messiah1 ,st4 ,paul1 and equally trying music1 during the past twenty years1 and anyone else who keeps the girl's alto voice before him as a model can do the same4 ,the boy alto voice may be said to have a husk and a kernel3 the one strident1 harsh1 and overpowering2 the other sweet1 and1 with use1 rich and round4 ,the average healthy boy1 with his exuberant love of noise1 will naturally give the husk1 but the skilful voice-trainer will only accept the kernel1 evolved from right register1 good timbre1 and proper production4 ,seeing and hearing a process in voice-training is1 however1 more satisfactory than much writing and the reading thereof4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,w4 ,w4 ,pearson1 master of a village school in ,norfolk1 who is well-known by his excellent part-songs1 writes to me3-- ,i succeed very well in getting boys to sing alto because ,i always use a large number of exercises in two parts1 making each division of the class in turn take the lower part4 ,i do not choose boys for altos on account of age4 ,that1 in my opinion1 has nothing to do with it4 ,i choose them by quality of voice4 ,there is no break in the voice of the natural alto between--,illustration3 ,g and ,c ,i find altos out generally when they are novices1 by hearing them trying to sing with the others1 and dropping down an octave in high passages4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following interesting notes are by ,mr4 ,w4 ,critchley1 organist1 choirmaster1 and schoolmaster in the village of ,hurst1 near ,reading3-- ,i do not choose the elder boys as altos1 as ,i find that treble boys1 as a rule1 are at their very best just before the change of voice4 ,and moreover1 when that change begins1 the voice is so uncertain in its intonation that if the boy were put to sing alto he would be certain to drag the others down4 ,at present ,i have one or two boys with round1 mellow voices1 who are very effective4 ,unfortunately1 most of the alto parts in hymn-tunes and chants hover about the place where the break in the voice occurs1 and it requires a lot of practice to conquer the difficulty4 ,as a rule1 ,i get the alto boys to sing in the lower register4 ,it is very seldom they get a note which they cannot take in this register1 so ,i train it up a little1 thus-- ,illustration3 ,,keys ,b to ,f4 d#a t#b l#b t#b d#a r#a m#a ,i do not see any other way of getting over the uncertainty in the boy alto voice4 ,it is merely a matter of time and trouble4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,e4 ,taylor1 choirmaster of ,st4 ,mary's1 ,penzance1 and head-master of the ,national ,school1 says3-- ,i have had one or two pure alto voices1 and these are the best1 but very rare4 ,good voices of trebles unable to take ,illustration3 musical notation 7,d7 have often become fair alto voices1 and my present solo alto boy is one of these4 ,the trios in the anthems are taken by boy alto1 tenor1 and bass4 ,these alto boys are practised from lower ,g to ,c--,illustration3 musical notation up and down1 minding their p's and f's4 ,my trebles1 as a rule1 last until fifteen years of age1 and altos until sixteen1 and even seventeen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,a4 ,isaac1 choirmaster of a church in ,liverpool1 says3-- ,for the last twenty years ,i have been continuously engaged with male voice choirs in connection with churches too poor to pay for adult help1 and1 as you may readily guess1 ,i have never yet had the good fortune to secure1 for any length1 the services of gentlemen who could sing falsetto effectively4 ,i have had1 therefore1 to rely solely upon my boys for the alto part4 ,at the present time my choir1 which is allowed to be up to the mark amongst local ,liverpool churches1 is made up of #bb boys 7#ah treble and #d alto7 paid1 and #ad adults 7#e tenors and #i basses7 voluntary4 ,there is1 ,i find1 no royal road to the alto part4 ,my course is as follows4 ,i obtain my boys as soon as they are eleven1 by which age they have been made fairly familiar at my school with the old notation on the movable do plan4 ,theoretical instruction is continued side by side with special voice-training exercises4 ,occasionally ,i meet with a boy who has a true mezzo-soprano voice1 and he is a treasure1 but in the main my selections are boys with treble voices4 ,as soon as a treble shows signs of voice breaking1 ,i let him down into the alto part4 ,the transition is not very difficult1 for by this time the boy has become a fairly good ,sol-faist and reader4 ,i have but to adapt the voice-training exercises to him in company with his fellows1 and ,i have no reason to regret the issue4 ,i take my boys always together1 with two-part exercises4 ,mr4 ,stocks ,hammond1 organist and choirmaster of ,st4 ,barnabas1 ,bradford1 in a published paper on ,boys' ,voices1 says3-- ,during many years of choir training1 ,i have experienced very great difficulty in supplying the alto parts with good men's falsetto voices 7especially in voluntary choirs71 and ,i have therefore been compelled to have that part sung by boys1 and experience leads me to prefer the boys' voices to men's1 unless1 indeed1 they are real alto voices1 which are seldom to be met with4 ,i have never yet had any great difficulty in finding boys' voices capable of sustaining that part1 and can always fill up any gaps that occur by the following means4 ,whenever ,i find a treble begins to experience a difficulty in singing the upper notes1 and that in order to sing them he must strain his voice1 immediately he is put to sing alto1 which he is in most cases able to do for one or two years1 and during that time he is thus retained as a useful member of the choir2 for otherwise he would very soon have been lost to it entirely1 for nothing hastens so much the breaking of the voice as the habit of unduly straining it4 ,mr4 ,t4 ,h4 ,collinson1 ,mus4,b41 organist of ,st4 ,mary's ,cathedral1 ,edinburgh1 writes to me3-- ,boy altos are a fraud and a deception1 as a rule1 though occasionally one meets with a natural contralto at an early age4 ,even then he can generally be worked up to treble by gentle treatment1 developing the middle and falsetto registers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in order to get to the bottom of this subject1 ,i invited correspondence in the ,musical ,standard 7until recently the organ of the ,college of ,organists71 and several interesting letters were the result4 ,mr4 ,r4 ,t4 ,gibbons1 ,f4,c4,o41 organist of the ,grocers' ,company's ,schools1 where excellent performances of operettas are given1 wrote3-- ,as soon as a boy's voice reaches only ,eb he is drafted into the altos1 and that preserves his voice much longer4 ,to this statement ,mr4 ,fred4 ,cambridge1 organist of ,croydon ,parish ,church1 took exception4 ,he said3-- ,i do not wish to appear to dogmatise1 but ,i should say 'as soon as a boy's voice reaches only ,eb1' it is quite time he left off singing altogether1 i4e41 if his voice has previously been a treble4 ,i know it is the custom in some choirs to make a boy sing alto as soon as his voice begins to break4 ,in my opinion1 such a course is utterly wrong4 ,it is not only injurious to the boy's voice1 but very unpleasant for those who have to listen to it4 ,in a school of #ejj boys1 there ought to be no difficulty in finding sufficient natural altos1 without having to rely on broken-voiced trebles4 ,in my own choir ,i frequently admit altos at #aj or #aa years of age1 with the result that ,i get five or six years' work out of them1 and the latter part of their time they are available for alto solos4 ,i think 7and ,i speak from upwards of #cj years' experience7 that if ,mr4 ,gibbons will try this plan1 he will find it much more satisfactory than drafting his trebles into the altos as soon as their voices begin to break4 ,i do not enter into the question of men versus boy altos1 because it is my experience that in a voluntary choir1 especially in the country1 a really good adult alto is such a rara avis1 that one is obliged to rely on boys1 and if they are carefully chosen and trained1 they are1 ,i think1 quite satisfactory4 ,the only place when one misses the man alto voice is in anthems with a verse for ,a4,t4,b41 such as ',rejoice in the ,lord' 7,purcell71 ',the ,wilderness' 7,goss71 c4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,juleff1 organist of ,bodmin ,parish ,church1 wrote3-- ,allow me to say that ,i have found men altos infinitely preferable to those of boys4 ,in short1 one good man alto ,i have experienced to be equal to half-a-dozen boy altos as regards tone2 and in respect to phrasing and reading ,i have found men altos decidedly superior4 ,the two gentlemen altos who were in my choir at ,,ss4 ,michael and ,all ,angels1 ,exeter1 were acknowledged by ,london organists to be 'second to none' in the provinces4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the other hand1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,ely1 ,f4,c4,o41 of ,st4 ,john's ,college1 ,leatherhead1 gave a warm testimony to boy altos3-- ,i may say that in my choir at this ,college ,i have four or five very good boy altos4 ,one is exceptionally good1 possessing a natural alto voice of remarkable richness and beauty4 ,in our services and anthems he takes the solo alto parts1 and in my opinion he is far superior to a man alto1 except in such anthems as ,wesley's ',ascribe unto the ,lord' 7expressly written for choirs possessing men altos71 in which he cannot take some of the lower notes4 ,the compass of his voice is from ,f to ,eb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in these letters and experiences there are evidently two underlying ideas4 ,first1 that the boy alto has a naturally low voice2 second1 that the boy alto is a broken-down soprano4 ,for both these notions there is some physical foundation1 because there is no doubt that the lower notes of boys of #ab to #ad are rounder and fuller than those of boys of #i to #ab4 ,herr ,eglinger1 of ,basel1 to whose mastery of the subject in theory and practice ,i can testify1 from personal intercourse1 distinctly recognises this4 ,he says3-- ,it is only when boys and girls approach the period of change1 say a year or two before the voice begins to break1 that a clear chest-voice1 corresponding to that of women1 is perceptible4 ,in boys at this stage1 the head-voice rapidly declines in volume and height2 and what there is of middle register is not much1 nor of great service much longer4 ,on the other hand1 the chest-tones acquire a resonance1 and in boys a certain gruffness1 which1 mixed with other voices1 imparts a peculiar charm to the chorus4 ,thus although here and there a boy may be found with a naturally low voice from the first1 the majority of altos will be obtained from older boys1 who are approaching the period of change4 ,it is1 however1 of much importance to watch these boys1 and stop their singing when their voice really gives way1 because it then becomes uncertain in its intonation1 and is apt to spoil the tuning of the choir4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the idea that boys must not use the thick or chest register is also a mistake4 ,it is the straining of this register1 which produces a hard1 rattling sound1 that is objectionable4 ,boy altos have as much right to use the chest register1 in its proper place and with proper reserve of power1 as women altos4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,schools ,,for ,,choristers4 ,music is now recognised as one of the professions1 taking its place by the side of ,law1 ,medicine1 and ,divinity4 ,parents who have boys to start in life look for avenues of entrance to these various occupations4 ,and there can be no doubt that to be a chorister-boy is one of the very best ways of serving an apprenticeship to music4 ,hear what the late ,sir ,george ,macfarren says on the subject3-- ,a cathedral choir is the best cradle for a musician our country affords4 ,i say this from the conviction1 many times confirmed1 that1 as an average1 by very far the best practical musicians1 those ,i mean whose musical readiness gives them the air of having music as an instinct or of second nature1 those who are ever prompt with their talent to produce or to perform without preparation at the requirement of the moment2 those whose ears are quick1 whose wits are sharp1 and whose utmost ability is ever at their fingers' ends--are they who have passed their art infancy in one of our ecclesiastical arenas for constant practice4 ,the very early habit of hearing and performing music stimulates the musical sense1 and gives musical tendency to all the youthfully supple faculties which bear upon the use of this sense4 ,the habit in almost first childhood of associating sight with sound1 written characters with uttered notes1 the office of the eye with that of the ear or of the voice1 which is the ear's agent1 does more in favourable cases to develop some of the best essentials in an artist1 than can be accomplished by the unremitting study of after life4 ,i say this feelingly3 ,i had not the advantage to which ,i refer1 but ,i observe its influence upon the majority of others whose talent claims my best respect4 ,these words put the case with emphasis and truth4 ,a list of former choir boys in the musical profession1 if it could be compiled1 would afford further evidence in this matter4 ,among composers the list would include ,arthur ,sullivan1 ,alfred ,cellier1 ,john ,stainer1 and ,alfred ,gaul2 among singers1 ,edward ,lloyd and ,joseph ,maas1 while the ranks of the teaching profession are largely recruited from this source4 ,literature1 says ,mr4 ,herkomer1 does not help art much4 ,art is learnt by doing4 ,you cannot become a musician by reading the matter up1 or listening to lectures4 ,musicianship is imparted more after the style of a moral than of an intellectual power--like good breeding rather than like arithmetic4 ,a striking proof of the fact that the chorister boy gravitates easily into the musical profession1 and makes his mark there1 is afforded by the history of ,rochester ,cathedral boys4 ,these include the late ,mr4 ,joseph ,maas1 the tenor singer1 and the following organists of cathedrals1 all of whom are living3--,dr4 ,armes 7,durham71 ,dr4 ,crow 7,ripon71 ,dr4 ,bridge 7,westminster71 ,dr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,bridge 7,chester71 and ,mr4 ,wood 7,exeter74 ,these facts make parents anxious for information as to how to get their sons into church and cathedral choirs4 ,enquiries of this kind are constantly reaching me4 ,i have therefore thought it well to add to the completeness of this work by collecting information from all available sources1 and ,i have to express my thanks to the ,rev4 ,precentors who have so readily responded to my circular of appeal4 ,the result is in some respects disappointing4 ,choir boarding schools are not numerous1 and are not increasing in number4 ,the agricultural depression has reduced the revenues of cathedrals and colleges1 and they are likely in the future to seek out cheaper rather than more expensive modes of working4 ,a few town churches which place music in the front1 have started boarding schools1 but1 as a rule1 the choristers live in their homes4 ,i have no desire for these boarding schools in the abstract4 ,i question if the boys get more musical education by living together than they do by coming for it day by day4 ,but the boarding school affords the only opportunity for parents who do not live in a cathedral town to get their boys educated as choristers4 ,the day schools suit the townspeople well enough1 and here and there a boy from a distance may board with relatives or friends and get into the choir1 but this is exceptional4 ,i now give the results of my enquiries4 ,,choir ,,boarding ,,schools4 ,,worcester ,,cathedral ,,choir ,,school4--,a preparatory school for the sons of professional men4 ,boys admitted as probationers nine to eleven1 on passing examination4 ,the ten choristers and eight probationers are lodged1 boarded1 and taught together at the ,choir ,school4 ,charge #bf per annum for probationers1 and #af for choristers1 plus #gs4 #f;d4 a quarter for washing4 ,pianoforte lessons #aes4 per quarter4 ,boys can compete1 when their voices break1 for a scholarship at the ,cathedral ,grammar ,school4 ,several have done this with success4 ,apply ,rev4 ,h4 ,h4 ,woodward1 ,m4,a41 ,mus4,b4 ,,westminster ,,abbey ,,choir ,,house4--,candidates must produce certificate of baptism and be at least eight years of age4 ,expected to possess good voice1 moderate knowledge of rudiments1 to be able to read and write fairly1 and to pass medical examination4 ,all boys taught vocal music1 and facilities given for learning instruments4 ,master of choir house responsible for their general education1 which includes ,english subjects1 ,french1 ,german1 and drawing4 ,parents must supply clothing1 and usual appointments1 school books1 pocket money1 travelling expenses1 and medical attendance4 ,all other fees paid by the ,chapter4 ,,exeter ,,cathedral ,,choir ,,school4--,fourteen choristers are boarded and educated for #aj a year1 and provided with a suit of clothes each year4 ,there are always two probationers in the school from eight to ten years of age paying #ce exclusive of usual extras4 ,vacancies in choristers usually filled by probationers1 but no pledge given4 ,possible grants to deserving choristers when they leave2 school fees sometimes paid for six months or so after the voice has failed4 ,head master and experienced matron4 ,,all ,,saints1 ,,margaret ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4--,twelve choir boys and two accepted boys waiting for vacancies live in west wing of vicarage under care of one of the clergy1 who gives them lessons each morning1 a certificated master taking them in the evenings4 ,afternoon1 cricket and football in ,regent's ,park4 ,whole holiday ,saturdays1 and those who live near enough can go home4 ,vacations--a week in ,january and at ,easter1 and #cd days in ,august and ,september4 ,each boy separate cubicle in dormitory4 ,boys have meals in dining hall with clergy 7but at separate table74 ,each boy pays #ab in first year1 #h in second year1 and nothing afterwards4 ,gratuity of #aj when voice breaks4 ,probationers pay #e per quarter1 and do everything except sing in church4 ,no boy received unless parents wish him to be brought up in ,church of ,england4 ,correct ear and brilliant voice count more at examination than knowledge of music4 ,apply ,vicar4 ,,chapel ,,royal1 ,,st4 ,,james',s ,,palace4--,the ten choristers reside with ,master1 who is a priest of the ,chapel ,royal4 ,free board and education and greater part of clothing4 ,grant of from #cj to #dj on leaving choir if conduct good4 ,latin1 ,french1 ,mathematics1 and usual ,english subjects4 ,,oxford1 ,,magdalene ,,college ,,school4--,sixteen choristers1 board and education free4 ,admitted by open competition4 ,the school is not confined to choristers2 it contains at present #gj boys1 many of whom pass on to the ,university4 ,,oxford1 ,,new ,,college4--,eight senior and eight junior choristers take part in the services4 ,these all receive free education at the ,college ,school1 but provide their own books4 ,they are prepared for ,oxford ,local ,examinations1 the ,college paying fees4 ,twelve choristers are boarded in the ,school ,house with the master4 ,these are arranged in two divisions according to musical ability4 ,the first division boarded free1 the second division pays about #fs4 a week for the #dj weeks of the school year4 ,some fees paid to senior boys and boys of special value as soloists4 ,choristers whose parents reside in ,oxford receive from #ajs4 to #e a year according to merit and seniority4 ,gratuity or apprentice fee not exceeding #dj occasionally given4 ,,frome1 ,,somerset4--,st4 ,john ,baptist ,college4 ,founded by late ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4 ,e4 ,bennett #cf years ago4 ,number of boys usually #ae2 maintained1 clothed1 and educated on payment of #gs4 a week under twelve1 and #hs4 above4 ,no regular holidays4 ,boys not allowed to leave till they have made their first communion4 ,,lincoln ,,minster4--,boys boarded and educated at ,northgate ,schools at expense of ,chapter4 ,english subjects1 ,french1 ,latin1 ,german1 ,drawing1 ,shorthand1 ,chemistry4 ,all school books found4 ,parents pay travelling1 clothing1 and washing only4 ,small allowance of pocket-money4 ,four weeks' holiday in the year4 ,,eastbourne1 ,,st4 ,,saviour',s ,,church ,,choir ,,school4--,established #ahgh4 ,boys admitted as boarders or day pupils from eight years of age1 choristers 7boarders7 pay #cb guineas a year1 day choristers #ad guineas4 ,instrumental music1 ,german1 and ,drawing are extras4 ,other subjects as for ,cambridge local exams4 ,ten weeks' holiday in the year4 ,scholarships of from #e to #ae a year are awarded to efficient choristers4 ,,ripon ,,cathedral ,,choir ,,school4--,day boys under #ad1 #f per annum2 over #ad1 #h4 ,boarders under #ab1 #dj per annum2 over #ab1 #de4 ,laundress1 #b4 ,usual subjects1 including modern languages and science4 ,instrumental music extra4 ,four choral scholarships at #cj1 eight at #be1 and six for probationers at #bj4 ,pupils prepared for ,university ,local ,examinations1 ,preliminary ,law1 and ,medical1 c4 ,playground1 workshop1 cricket field1 library1 school magazine4 ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,cathedral ,,choir ,,school4--,board and education free3 parents provide clothes1 travelling1 and pocket money4 ,good voices and musical talent necessary4 ,easy preliminary examination in ,scripture1 three ,r's1 and ,latin4 ,candidates must be between #h and #aj4 ,two or three examinations are held each year according as there are vacancies4 ,course of study as usual for public schools4 ,piano and violin extra4 ,holidays at ,christmas1 ,easter1 and ,summer4 ,weekly half-holiday4 ,private field in suburbs for games4 ,rev4 ,w4 ,russell1 ,succentor1 is head master4 ,,salisbury ,,cathedral4--,boarding school for choristers in the ,close4 ,eighteen boys4 ,parents pay #ae a year4 ,school has also some pupils who are not choristers4 ,usual subjects of secondary school4 ,one ex-chorister is now a scholar of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,the master is a ,minor ,canon4 ,boys admitted by competition2 those from neighbourhood of ,salisbury preferred4 ,endowment of nearly #a1jjj a year for the choir4 ,,all ,,saints1 ,,clifton4--,choir school for the choristers of ,all ,saints ,church1 who can be prepared for public schools or commercial life4 ,there are twenty choir scholarships1 ranging in value from #aj to #be a year4 ,a boy holding a junior scholarship may at any time be elected to one of higher value4 ,school fees for choristers #g to #aj guineas a term4 ,choristers may remain at the school after voice breaks at discretion of head-master4 ,holidays at ,summer1 ,christmas1 and ,easter4 ,the school is open to boys generally1 whether choristers or not4 ,,the ,,vicar',s ,,choir ,,school1 ,,hull4--,intended for the choristers of ,holy ,trinity ,church4 ,school fee1 #aj #ajs4 per annum4 ,boarders #dj per annum4 ,ten scholarships of the value of #aj #ajs41 ten value #h #hs41 and twenty value #e #es4 ,amount of scholarship deducted from boarding fee in case of those who are admitted into choir4 ,thirteen weeks' holiday during the year4 ,,oxford1 ,,christ ,,church ,,cathedral ,,school4--,boys are all sons of clergymen or other professional men4 ,eight choristers educated1 boarded1 and lodged free of expense4 ,eight probationers1 who1 if approved1 become choristers as vacancies occur4 ,probationary period usually from #b to #b-a_/b years4 ,probationers pay #be a year4 ,a few extras1 and fee of #c #cs4 on election of probationer to choristership4 ,every boy is1 if possible1 passed through the ,oxford ,local ,examinations4 ,month's holiday in summer1 and short leave of absence either at ,christmas or ,easter1 if particularly desired4 ,election by competition after trial of voice and ear4 ,,winchester ,,cathedral4--,sixteen choristers sing in the services4 ,these receive education free1 a clothing gratuity of #e a year1 and a leaving gratuity of from #e to #bj1 according to merit and length of service4 ,there are four boarding scholarships1 which leave the parents only #e a year to pay4 ,six of the choristers are foundation boys4 ,of these1 the two seniors receive #d a year1 and the two juniors #b a year1 but boarding scholarships and foundation money are not given to the same boys4 ,there are also four to eight probationers who supply vacancies1 if on second trial their voices are approved4 ,these receive free education4 ,there are sixty boys in the school4 ,,tenbury1 ,,st4 ,,michael',s ,,college4--,founded by the late ,rev4 ,sir ,frederick ,gore-,ouseley in #ahef4 ,there are eight choristers1 boarded and educated free4 ,also eight probationers1 from whom the choristers are selected1 who pay #dj guineas a year4 ,commoners1 i4e41 boys who do not hold scholarships1 and are not probationers1 pay #fj guineas a year2 two or more brothers #ee guineas a year4 ,preference is given in all elections to the sons of clergymen4 ,thirteen weeks' holiday in the year4 ,sound classical and mathematical education1 to fit for scholarships and the higher forms at public schools4 ,healthy situation1 in country4 ,,education ,,only4 ,,bristol ,,cathedral4--,boys attend ,cathedral ,grammar ,school1 where there are #ajj boys4 ,,gloucester ,,cathedral4--,boys educated and paid up to #aj per annum4 ,,st4 ,,asaph4--,boys educated at ,grammar ,school4 ,,wells4--,boys educated at ,cathedral ,grammar ,school4 ,,york4--,boys sent to ,archbishop ,holgate's ,school4 ,,truro4--,probationers1 after serving at least three months1 may be admitted choristers1 and receive small quarterly payment4 ,from these are elected the choir scholars1 of whom there are now ten4 ,these receive free education and a quarterly gratuity4 ,one boy1 with remarkable contralto voice1 comes from a distance1 and is boarded and educated at expense of ,dean and ,chapter4 ,enlarged number of boarders contemplated4 ,,st4 ,,peter',s1 ,,eaton ,,square1 ,,london1 ,w4--,special day school with master4 ,boys have midday dinner1 with tea on practice and late service nights4 ,boarding school formerly existed1 but is given up4 ,,durham ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,ely ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,bangor4--,choristers brought up in ,national or ,grammar ,school4 ,,temple ,,church1 ,,london4--,boys attend ,stationers' ,school4 ,,peterborough ,,cathedral4--,boys educated at ,king's ,school4 ,,chichester ,,cathedral4--,boys taught at ,prebendal ,school4 ,,inverness ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,armagh ,,cathedral4--,a day school for the choir boys4 ,,hampton ,,court1 ,,chapel ,,royal4--,no boarding school4 ,,newcastle-,,on-,,tyne ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,manchester ,,cathedral4--,a special day school for the choir boys1 taught by a lay clerk4 ,eighteen to twenty boys receive education free1 and four foundation boys receive #bj per annum4 ,the ,precentor likes to have the boys at nine4 ,,lichfield ,,cathedral4--,day school taught by a deputy lay clerk1 the succentor taking ,latin1 ,english1 and ,divinity4 ,,dublin1 ,,st4 ,,patrick',s ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,perth ,,cathedral4--,no school4 ,,lincoln',s ,,inn4--,choristers educated1 but not boarded4 ,,norwich ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,carlisle ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,rochester ,,cathedral4--,boys live at home1 and attend ,cathedral ,school1 which is not especially for choristers4 ,,liverpool ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,,southwell ,,minster4--,no boarding school4 ,,st4 ,,alban',s ,,cathedral4--,no boarding school4 ,from these particulars it will be gathered that the prevailing custom is for chorister boys to live at home and give their voices in return for free education4 ,the various boarding schools described differ much in the terms they offer1 and it may be said generally that only an exceptionally good voice and a personal introduction are likely to succeed in those cases where free board and education are given4 ,the number of candidates is so large that selection is difficult4 ,illustration3 ,decoration ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,concert ,,songs ,,for ,,boys4 ,in this list ,i have included songs with innocent1 hopeful1 joyous words such as boys may honestly sing4 ,words dwelling with sadness on the past1 or speaking of life as bitter1 ,i have excluded4 ,convivial and amatory sentiments have also been ruled out4 ,as to the music1 ,i have excluded songs with difficulties of vocalisation4 ,the keys chosen are those best suited to treble boys1 bringing the melody as nearly as possible between ,f and ,f#a1 with an occasional ,g#a4 ,the list is by no means exhaustive1 and must be regarded merely as a dip in the ocean of ballads4 ,i shall be much obliged to correspondents who will suggest suitable additions4 ,composer4 ,title and ,key4 ,publisher4 ,abt1 ,franz 444 ,o little thrush 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,adams1 ,stephen 444 ,song of the sailor boy 7,e flat7 ,r4 ,cocks ,adams1 ,stephen 444 ,the cry of the little ones 7,e flat74444 ,boosey ,addison1 ,r4 ,b4 444 ,violets 7,f7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,allen1 ,g4 ,b4 444 ,the little drummer 7,f7 444 ,ashdown ,almond1 ,e4 444 ,buttercups and daisies 7,d7 444 ,ashdown ,anderton1 ,t4 444 ,the bells of ,shandon 7,d7 444 ,chappell ,andr1 ,f4 ,a4 444 ,a ,british cheer for ,england's ,queen 7,f7 444 ,chappell ,bailey1 ,w4 ,j4 444 ,make-believes 7,e flat7 444 ,ashdown ,barker1 ,geo4 444 ,a health to the outward-bound 7,b flat7 444 ,chappell ,barnby1 ,joseph 444 ,an evening melody 7,f7 444 ,morley ,barnby1 ,joseph 444 ,that haven fair 7,e flat7 444 ,morley ,barnett1 ,j4 ,f4 444 ,the ,minstrel 7,g7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,barri1 ,odoardo 444 ,in the cloisters 7,b flat7 444 ,morley ,barri1 ,odoardo 444 ,the beauteous song 7,f7 444 ,cramer ,barri1 ,odoardo 444 ,the child and the flowers 7,e flat7 444 ,ashdown ,behrend1 ,a4 ,h4 444 ,gentleman ,jack 7,c7 444 ,patey ,willis ,behrend1 ,a4 ,h4 444 ,the angel's promise 7,f7 444 ,boosey ,behrend1 ,a4 ,h4 444 ,the ,gift 7,f7 444 ,boosey ,behrend1 ,a4 ,h4 444 ,two children 7,a7 444 ,patey ,willis ,bennett1 ,sterndale 444 ,dawn1 gentle flower 444 ,novello ,bevan1 ,fred 444 ,gladsome tidings 7,e flat7 444 ,patey ,willis ,bevan1 ,fred 444 ,i'll be a soldier1 mother 7,a7 444 ,patey ,willis ,bevan1 ,fred 444 ,the ,admiral's broom 7,f minor7 444 ,enoch ,bishop1 ,r 444 ,chime again1 beautiful bells 7,b flat7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,botterhill1 ,jessie 444 ,pack clouds away 7,c7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,botterhill1 ,jessie 444 ,the ,lark 7,f7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,buck1 ,dudley 444 ,when the heart is young 444 ,boosey ,cherry1 ,j4 ,w4 444 ,gentle ,spring 7,g7 444 ,ashdown ,cherubini 444 ,ave ,maria 444 ,chesham1 ,e4 ,m4 444 ,fire 7,g7 444 ,cramer ,cobb1 ,g4 ,f4 444 ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots 444 ,london ,music ,pub4 ,co4 ,cobb1 ,g4 ,f4 444 ,versailles 444 ,london ,music ,pub4 ,co4 ,cobb1 ,g4 ,f4 444 ,kenilworth 444 ,metzler ,costa1 ,michael 444 ,morning ,prayer ,eli7alto7 444 ,j4 ,williams ,cowen1 ,f4 ,h4 444 ,children's dreams 7,e minor7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,cowen1 ,f4 ,h4 444 ,the ,children's ,home 7,d7 444 ,morley ,cowen1 ,f4 ,h4 444 ,tears 7alto7 444 ,cowen1 ,f4 ,h4 444 ,the watchman and the child 7,f7 444 ,morley ,coward1 ,j4 ,m4 444 ,the butterfly and the humble bee 444 ,metzler ,co4 ,davis1 ,miss 444 ,what is that1 mother8 7,a flat7 444 ,ashdown ,dick1 ,cotsford 444 ,the ,angel's ,gift 7,f7 444 ,morley ,diehl1 ,louis 444 ,dear ,england 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,elmore1 ,frank 444 ,child and the sunbeams 7,c7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,farebrother1 ,b4 444 ,reine d'amour 444 ,flood1 ,edwin 444 ,the gipsy's life 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,foster1 ,m4 ,b4 ,the mother's grave 7,e minor7 alto ,stanley ,lucas ,frost1 ,c4 ,j4 444 ,youthful ,songs 444 ,novello ,gabriel1 ,v4 ,children's voices alto 444 ,gatty1 ,a4 ,s4 444 ,three little pigs 7,a flat7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,gibsone1 ,ignace 444 ,the man-o'-war's man 7,d7 444 ,patey ,willis ,gilletto1 ,paul 444 ,lead1 kindly light 7,a minor7 444 ,phillips ,page ,glover1 ,stephen 444 ,the flower gatherers 7,e7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,gounod1 ,c4 444 ,for ever with the ,lord 7,d7 444 ,phillips ,page ,gounod1 ,c4 444 ,glory to ,thee1 my ,god 7,d7 444 ,phillips ,page ,gounod1 ,c4 444 ,the ,king of ,love 7,e flat7 alto 444 ,phillips ,page ,grazia1 ,e4 ,n4 444 ,laugh while you may 7,d7 444 ,ashdown ,greenhill1 ,j4 444 ,the ,canadian herd-boy 7,f7 alto 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,gyde1 ,margaret 444 ,the song of the robin 7,d7 444 ,ashdown ,hatton1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,the cause of ,england's greatness 7,f7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,hatton1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,song should breathe of scents and flowers 444 ,ashdown ,hatton1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,blossoms 444 ,ashdown ,hawthorne1 ,alice 444 ,hearth and home 7,g7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,hecht1 ,e4 444 ,the innocent child 7,c7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,hobson1 ,m4 444 ,the peaceful ,sabbath bell 7,f7 444 ,chappell ,horner1 ,b4 ,w4 444 ,in the cloisters 7,e flat7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,jackson1 ,j4 444 ,cathedral ,memories 7,e flat7 444 ,morley ,kjerulf1 ,halfdan 444 ,asleep 7,e7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,lemoine1 ,e4 444 ,the ship-boy's prayer 7,c min47 alto 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,liebe1 ,louis 444 ,the stripling's armour 7,c minor7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,lhr1 ,f4 ,n4 444 ,suffer the little children 7,f7 444 ,cramer ,maccabe1 ,f4 444 ,buttercups and daisies 7,d7 444 ,chappell ,mackenzie1 ,h4 444 ,the lion flag of ,england 7,g7 444 ,patey ,willis ,marzials1 ,theo 444 ,the fairy ,jane 7,b flat7 444 ,enoch ,mendelssohn 444 ,the ,savoyard's ,return 444 ,novello ,moffat1 ,douglas 444 ,the child's prayer 7,f7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,moir1 ,f4 ,l4 444 ,children asleep 7,f7 444 ,boosey ,moir1 ,f4 ,l4 444 ,he will forgive 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,molloy1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,home1 dearie1 home 7,f7 444 ,boosey ,molloy1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,the little match girl 7,g minor7 444 ,chappell ,molloy1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,the sailor's dance 444 ,boosey ,molloy1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,dresden ,china 444 ,boosey ,morgan1 ,franz 444 ,a fairer garden 7,c7 444 ,cramer ,offenbach 444 ,spring1 spring 7,babil and ,bijou7 444 ,parker1 ,henry 444 ,jerusalem 7,g7 444 ,cramer ,pattison1 ,t4 ,mee 444 ,blossoms1 fair blossoms 444 ,curwen ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,dolorosa 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,eternal rest 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,in ,manus ,tuas 7,f7 444 ,morley ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,ora pro nobis 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,salva nos1 domine 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,sancta ,maria 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,the soldier of the cross 444 ,orsborn ,piccolomini1 ,m4 444 ,the two choirs 444 ,orsborn ,pinsuti1 ,ciro 444 ,heaven's chorister 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,pinsuti1 ,ciro 444 ,the old cathedral 7,d7 444 ,morley ,pinsuti1 ,ciro 444 ,the touch of a vanished hand 7,g7 444 ,cramer ,pinsuti1 ,ciro 444 ,welcome1 pretty primrose 444 ,ricordi ,randegger1 ,a4 444 ,save me1 ,o ,god 7,b flat7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,randegger1 ,a4 444 ,joyous ,life 444 ,rawlings1 ,a4 ,j4 444 ,the distant city alto 444 ,marshall ,robinson1 ,j4 444 ,a ,hush ,song 7,f7 444 ,j4 ,williams ,rodney1 ,paul 444 ,alone on the raft 7,g7 444 ,enoch ,rodney1 ,paul 444 ,calvary 7,d7 444 ,enoch ,rodney1 ,paul 444 ,the bells of ,st ,mary's 7,d7 444 ,enoch ,rodney1 ,paul 444 ,via ,dolorosa 7,g7 444 ,enoch ,rodwell1 ,g4 ,h4 444 ,your boy in blue 7,f7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,roeckel1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,captain ,dando 7,e flat7 444 ,enoch ,roeckel1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,crowning the seasons 7,d7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,roeckel1 ,j4 ,l4 444 ,hark6 the dogs do bark6 7,a7 444 ,cramer ,richards1 ,brinley 444 ,let the hills resound 7,e flat7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,richards1 ,brinley 444 ,mother1 thou art far away 7,f7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,smallwood1 ,w4 444 ,a song for the land ,i love 7,c7 444 ,chappell ,smart1 ,henry 444 ,victoria 7,b flat7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,smart1 ,henry 444 ,by the blue sea alto 444 ,metzler ,smart1 ,henry 444 ,dropping down the troubled river 444 ,novello ,smart1 ,henry 444 ,the birds were telling one another 7,f7 444 ,ashdown ,somervell1 ,arthur 444 ,four songs of ,innocence 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,songs for ,boys 7#bj songs1 price #f;d47 444 444 ,boosey ,songs for ,young ,girls 7#ah songs1 #as47 444 444 ,boosey ,stericker1 ,a4 ,c4 444 ,the ,ivy ,green 7,b flat7 alto 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,street1 ,a4 444 ,the birdie's ball 7,d7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,streleski1 ,anton 444 ,violets 7,g7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,sullivan1 ,a4 ,s4 444 ,the chorister 7alto7 444 ,metzler ,sullivan1 ,a4 ,s4 444 ,what does little birdie say 444 ,ashdown ,sullivan1 ,a4 ,s4 444 ,the ,sailor's ,grave 7,e flat7 444 ,ashdown ,tours1 ,berthold 444 ,jesu1 lover of my soul 7,d7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,tours1 ,berthold 444 ,the dog and the shadow 7,g7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,tours1 ,berthold 444 ,the new kingdom 7,d7 444 ,morley ,trotre1 ,h4 444 ,three men in a boat 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,wallace1 ,w4 ,v4 444 ,scenes that are brightest 7,f7 444 ,hutchings ,walsh1 ,marian 444 ,the sailor boy 7,c7 444 ,stanley ,lucas ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,an ,englishman's house is his castle 7,c7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,little birdie mine 7,d7 444 ,ashdown ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,little ,lady ,bountiful 7,f7 444 ,ashdown ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,loved and saved 7,b flat7 444 ,enoch ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,our dear old home 7,d7 444 ,patey ,willis ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,the ,powder-monkey 7,g7 444 ,patey ,willis ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,there's a ,friend for little children 7,a7 444 ,patey ,willis ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,trafalgar 7,e flat7 444 ,patey ,willis ,watson1 ,m4 444 ,two bells 7,g7 444 ,patey ,willis ,west1 ,j4 ,e4 444 ,the roseate hues 7alto7 444 ,ashdown ,west1 ,w4 444 ,i am a honey-bee 7,g7 444 ,ashdown ,wrightson1 ,w4 ,t4 444 ,be happy1 and never despair 7,g7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,wrightson1 ,w4 ,t4 444 ,cottage and throne 7,e flat7 444 ,r4 ,cocks ,old ,song 444 ,sir ,guy of ,warwick 7,f7 444 ,chappell 444 ,the ,minstrel ,boy 444 ,boosey 444 ,charlie is my darling 444 ,boosey 444 ,love was once a little boy 444 ,boosey 4444 444 ,the ,skipper and his ,boy 7,f7 444 ,hutchings ,,index4 ,,page ,abuse of the voice1 #a ,agricultural districts1 #di ,alto boys1 #ge ,altos1 ,adult male1 #ge ,balance of parts1 #af ,barnes1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,m41 #bc ,barnicott1 ,mr41 #ae ,bates1 ,dr4 ,frank1 #ha ,behnke1 ,mr41 #ad1 #ag ,berlin1 ,st4 ,mary's1 #ga ,boarding ,schools1 ,choir1 #ib ,breaking of the boy's voice1 #c ,breath1 ,management of the1 #f1 #fg ,breden1 ,mr4 ,owen1 #ga ,bridge1 ,dr41 #fj ,brooks1 ,mr4 ,walter1 #ae1 #cd ,cambridge1 ,mr4 ,f41 #hg ,canterbury ,cathedral1 #fd ,cathedral choirmasters1 #ei ,change to man's voice1 #c ,chanting1 #fb ,chapel ,royal1 ,st4 ,james's1 #ei ,chest voice1 #bd ,choir ,guild1 #i ,choosing boys1 #ba ,choristers1 ,schools for1 #ij ,churchill1 #eb ,clement ,danes1 ,st41 ,strand1 #gb ,clergyman's daughter1 ,the1 #ee ,cold1 ,singing during a1 #b ,collar-bone breathing1 #f ,collinson1 ,mr4 ,t4 ,h41 #ag1 #hf ,concert songs for boys1 #ii ,consonants1 #bg ,country boys1 #di ,creser1 ,dr41 #fi ,critchley1 ,mr4 ,w41 #di1 #hd ,curwen1 ,john1 ,register names1 #ab ,day ,schools1 ,choir1 #if ,deacon1 ,mr4 ,h41 #bg ,demack1 ,miss1 #eb ,diaphragm breathing1 #f ,dickson1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,e41 #be1 #gh ,discipline1 ,preserving1 #h ,donald1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,a41 #cc1 #gd ,dunn1 ,sinclair1 ,voice exs41 #ac ,edinburgh1 ,st4 ,mary's1 #ag1 #hf ,eglinger1 ,herr1 #ae1 #ce1 #hh ,ely1 ,mr4 ,thomas1 #hh ,ely1 ,the choir at1 #gh ,e1 ,the vowel1 #ag ,evans1 ,mr41 #ej ,feeble voice1 ,a1 #a ,fines1 #ag ,flattening1 #ca1 #cb ,garrett1 ,dr41 #gf ,gaul1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,r41 #ff ,gibbons1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,t41 #hf ,gilbert1 ,mr4 ,bernard1 #c1 #af ,girls1 ,imitating1 #ej1 #ec ,hammond1 ,mr4 ,stocks1 #af1 #hf ,health and singing1 #b ,helmore1 ,rev4 ,f4 ,j41 #bc ,helmore1 ,rev4 ,thomas41 #ei ,hibberd1 ,mr4 ,c41 #cd1 #eg ,hopkins1 ,dr4 ,e4 ,j41 #fa ,husband1 ,rev4 ,e41 #aj ,indistinctness1 #bg ,infant ,school1 ,the1 #db ,intoning1 #ag1 #eb ,isaac1 ,mr4 ,a41 #he ,juleff1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,e41 #hg ,keeton1 ,dr4 ,haydn1 #fg1 #hj ,knapp1 ,mr4 ,f4 ,j41 #gb ,lady teachers1 #eb ,leeds ,parish ,church1 #fi ,lincoln ,cathedral1 #fb ,lincoln's ,inn ,chapel1 #fa ,lloyd1 ,dr4 ,c4 ,h41 #fc ,longhurst1 ,dr41 #fe ,long services1 #h ,macfarren1 ,sir ,george1 #ij ,mackenzie1 ,sir ,morell1 #c ,managing choir boys1 #h ,mann1 ,rev4 ,w41 #bd ,mark's1 ,st41 ,chelsea1 #ga ,martin1 ,dr4 ,g4 ,c41 #b ,mental effects1 #cb1 #cd ,mixed schools1 #cb ,mhlfeld1 ,herr1 #gc ,norfolk voices1 #ef ,norwich1 ,dr4 ,buck at1 #ff ,o',rell1 ,max1 #h ,oxford1 ,christ ,church1 #fc ,parbery1 ,mr4 ,george1 #ec ,parish church choirmasters1 #fi ,paul's1 ,st41 ,cathedral1 #ei ,pearson1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,w41 #cc1 #ef1 #hd ,peter's1 ,st41 ,eaton ,square1 #i1 #gj ,pianoforte for rehearsal1 #cb ,prizes for choir boys1 #i ,pronunciation in singing1 #bg1 #df ,puberty1 ,age of1 #c ,registers1 ,the1 #ab ,rib breathing1 #f ,richardson1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,h41 #ce1 #dj ,roberti1 ,signor1 #cf ,roney1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,b41 #i1 #af ,rural districts1 #di ,salisbury ,cathedral1 #fg ,salisbury ,diocese1 #bc ,salzungen ,choir1 #gc ,saxton1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,h41 #c1 #ai ,schools for choristers1 #ij ,school teacher1 ,the1 #da ,sentiment about choir boys1 #aa ,sergison1 ,mr4 de ,manbey1 #i1 #gj ,sharpening1 #ce ,sharp1 ,mr4 ,frank1 #hc ,sight-singing1 #cj ,singing by ear1 #bi ,singing by note1 #bi ,singing out of tune1 #ca ,songs for boys1 #ii ,south1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,l41 #fg ,stainer1 ,sir ,john1 #ac ,steggall1 ,dr41 #fa ,stewart1 ,rev4 ,c4 ,h41 #be ,stone1 ,alfred1 #bi ,strakosch1 ,m41 #ae ,swanley boys1 #ce1 #dj ,taylor1 ,mr4 ,james1 #gf ,taylor1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,c4 ,e41 #bj1 #he ,temper1 ,uncontrolled1 #aj ,temple ,church1 #fa ,thick register1 #ab1 #hi ,thin register1 #ab ,tonic ,sol-fa certificates1 #i1 #bj1 #bi1 #dg ,tonic ,sol-fa system1 #cj1 #ej1 #ea1 #ec1 #eg1 #gj1 #gc ,training of boys' voices1 #dj ,tuning boys up1 #af1 #gc ,upton ,cross ,school1 #gd ,voice training1 #ab ,weekes1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,j41 #ce ,westminster ,abbey1 #fj ,working class boys1 #aj ,yorkshire voices1 #ad ,young1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,w4 ,m41 #bf1 #fb