Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/248

VOICE, 200 VOIDABLE. Tone has three attributes: strength or loud- ness, pitch, anil quality or timbre. Slrettgth de- pends upon the energy of the expirating blast, and upon the structure and adjustment of the vocal organ and the resonance apparatus. I'ilch depends upon the rapidity of the vibrations, this being determined by the length and tension of the cords. Quality, as has been shown in the article Acou.STics (q.v.), depends upon the char- acter and number of the partial tones (overtones) accompanying any fundamental note sounded; and this is determined mainly by the form and thickness of tlie cords. The principal difference between male and female voices lies in their pitch; but they are also distinguished by their quality, the female voice being softer. There arc two kinds of male voice, bass and tenor, and two kinds of female voice, contralto and soprano, all difl'ering from each other in quality. The essential difference between bass and tenor and contralto and so- prano is not range merely, for the bass and con- tralto often sing very high notes, but is one of tone or timbre, which distinguishes them even when they are singing the same note. The bary- tone and mezzo-soprano are the intermediate voices of the male and female, respectively. The boy's larynx is like that of the female, and his voice is similar in range and pitch, but is some- what louder and different in timbre. At puberty the boy's larynx undergoes a rapid cliange, into the bass or tenor, and is said to crack or break, the peculiarity then noticed being due to imper- fect control of the muscular mechanism, and also to the congested and swollen state of the mticous membrane of the cords, incident to active growth. See Singing. In each larynx difi'crent parts or regions of the scale are produced b.y different laryngeal mechanisms. Laryngoscopic observations show that for each region or system there is a particu- lar 'setting" of the larynx, which is maintained throughout each register, the cliief change being an increasing tension of the cords as the notes rise in pitch ; at the 'break' or change of register there is a sudden shifting of the- setting. In most voices the ear recognizes three registers, the lower, middle, and upper, also termed the thick, thin, and small registers. In the first the cords vibrate as thick masses, in the second only their thin edges vibrate, and in the last the vibrating chink of the glottis is much reduced in length. Ease and smoothness of transition from one register to another is one of the prin- cipal objects in training the singing voice. The lower and middle registers are sometimes called the chest voice, and the upper the head voice. In the male the thin register is called the falsetto. Women use mostly the upper part of the chest register and the lower ])art of the falsetto. Young children use the falsetto en- tirely. The middle voice, that is tlie upper part of the chest register, is used in public speaking, on account of its flexibility, reach, and the case with which it is sustained. Besides the musical tones formed in the larynx a large number of other sounds can be produced in the vocal tubes. Speech consists in the modification of the laryn- geal tones by other organs superior and anterior to the larynx (as the tongue, the cavit.v of the fauces, the lips, teeth, and palate, with its vehim and the uvula acting as a valve between the throat and nostrils), so as to produce those ar- ticulate sounds of which language is formed. ^'entrilo(Juism appears to consist merely in the varied modification of the sounds produced in the larynx in imitation of the modifications which distance imposes upon the voice. The es- sential mechanism of ventriloquism consists in taking a full breath, then keeping the muscles of the chest and neck fixed, and speaking with the mouth almost closed and the lips and lower jaw as motionless as possible, while air is very slowly expired through a narrow glottis. Care is also taken that none of the expired air is allowed to escape through the nose. JIuch of the ventrilo- quist's skill, however, in imitating sounds com- ing from particular directions depends on deceiv- ing other senses than hearing. The direction from which sounds reach the ear is never very clearly distinguished, and when the attention is directed to a particular point, the imagination is apt to refer to that point whatever sounds we may hear. See Palate; Acoustics. Consult: Helmholtz, Die Lehre von den Tonempfindinigen (Brun.swick, 1877): Browne and Behnke, Voice, Song and Speech (New York, 1887) ; Mackenzie, The Hygiene of the Tocal Organs (London, 1887) ; Durant, Hygiene of the Voice (New York, 187!)) ; and Foster, Textbook of Physiology (Xew Y'ork, 1898). VOICES OF THE NIGHT. A collection of poems by f>ongfellow (1839). including the well- known "Psalm of Life." Most of the poems ap- peared originally in the Knickerbocker Magazine. VOICING. A term applied to regulating the quality of tone in organ-pipes. Tuning has to do only with correctness of ])itch : but in voicing a certain quality is aimed at. The fir^^t requii-e- ment is, that all the pipes must be made unifnrm. This is done by carefully regulating the amount of wind admitted and the angle at which it strikes the upper lip, and also by slightly changing the edge of the lip. Flue-pipes and reed-pipes require dilTerent treatment, so that voicers to-day gener- ally make a specialty of either of these pipes. Voicing requires a very fine ear. VOID (OF. voide, vuide, Fr. vide, empty, probably from Lat. viduus, bereft, deprived, widowed; connected with OPruss. uiddcityu, OChurch Slav, xndova, Skt. vidhavu, (Joth. tciditwo, OHG. wituwa, Ger. Wittwe, AS. icidewe, Eng. Mif/oic). In law, an act or agreement which has no legal force or effect is said to be void. A clear and substantial distinction is made between void and voidable. That which is void is a nullity in law from its incei)tion. but a voidable act or agreement has full legal force and effect until set aside. For example, an il- legal contract is void, whereas one induced by fraud is onlv voidable at the option of the de- frauded pariy. See CoNTKACT; Voidable. VOIDABLE. In law, an act or agreement which may be set aside or rendered of no effect by a party thereto, or by a competent court, is voidable. However, it continues to have full legal effect until such action is taken. The privi- lege of treating a contract as voidable is given to ))( rsons who have I)ecn imposed upon b.v reason of weakness of mind or lack of experience and discretion, as in cases of infants and in rases of fraud. See Contracts, and consult the authori- ties there referred to; also Voin.