The removal of all interference or direct local control of the parts above
the larynx, gives absolute freedom of form and action; and when the form
and action are free, articulation becomes automatic and spontaneous. When
all restraint is thus removed, the air current comes to the front, and we
secure the important condition of high placing. Furthermore, under these
conditions, when the air current strikes the roof of the mouth freely, it
is reflected into the inflated cavities, and there is heard and felt,
through sympathetic vibration of the air in the cavities, added resonance
or the wonderful reinforcing power of inflation: in this way is secured not
only the added resonance of all other cavities, but especially the
resonance of the chest, the greatest of all resonance or reinforcing
powers.

When the voice is thus freed under true conditions, it is possible to
arouse easily and quickly the mental and emotional power and vitality of
the singer. In this way is aroused that which I have called the singer's
sensation, or, for want of a better name, the third power of the voice.
This power is not a mere fancy. It is not imagination; for it is absolutely
necessary to the complete mental and emotional expression of the singer, to
the development of all his powers. This life or vital force is to the
singer a definite, controllable power. "Various terms have been applied to
this mysterious force. Plato called it 'the soul of the world.' Others
called it the 'plastic spirit of the world,' while Descartes gave it the
afterward popular name of 'animal spirits.' The Stoics called it simply
'nature,' which is now generally changed to 'nervous principle.'" "The
far-reaching results of so quiet and yet so tremendous a force may be seen
in the lives of the men and women who have the mental acumen to understand
what is meant by it." The singer who has developed and controlled "the
third power" through the true conditions of voice, never doubts its