About thirty-five years ago an article appeared in a London daily newspaper on the subject of voice culture containing these words: "Tone is a mental concept." This expression came as a welcome light to one who was greatly discouraged and seemingly at a standstill in his efforts to master the art of singing. He began to ponder this thought about tone, and guided in his reasoning by his understanding of God and man as revealed in Christian Science, he found himself entering upon an entirely new and joyous experience in his study of voice.

Before this new experience began, he had devoted years of study and practice in an effort to express beautiful singing (bel canto) through a combination of consciously controlled muscular actions of the physical body, but without success. He now turned wholeheartedly to Christian Science and with the aid of the two Concordances to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy found and studied all of her references to concepts, voice, tone, expression, and spiritual qualities.

His study had not progressed very far before he became convinced that he had found the spiritual truths of voice, which would guide him in his further study of the singing art. After months of faithful vocal practice in the light of his new spiritual understanding of the subject, he found himself liberated from all sense of discouragement and confusion and able to use his voice freely.

When approaching the study of voice production from a spiritually mental standpoint, the student must give first consideration to gaining an understanding of the difference between immortal Mind's universe of true concepts and the so-called human mind's counterfeit concepts. The concepts of immortal Mind eternally exist in the spiritual realm of the real. They do not, therefore, have to be re-formed or re-created by some humanly conceived muscular process of the physical body; they need only to be understood, claimed, and expressed by individuals. On page 262 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes: "To begin rightly is to end rightly. Every concept which seems to begin with the brain begins falsely. Divine Mind is the only cause or Principle of existence. Cause does not exist in matter, in mortal mind, or in physical forms."

If the vocal student or singing teacher believes that voice originates in the physical body, in matter, he is, it would seem, entertaining in thought that which is responsible for all the vocal difficulties experienced by singers, students of singing, and singing teachers. In Science, voice with its divinely conceived tones is spiritual and perfect, never dependent upon or related to matter in any manner. Again referring to Science and Health, we find these words (p. 259): "Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results."

The question naturally arises, Is the singer to ignore completely the control of the physical body? Not at all. If he is working, however, to gain control of the physical body in the hope that he may use it in some skillful manner to produce a beautiful singing tone, he is laboring under a misapprehension about voice. On the other hand, if he is working to see and know that the physical mechanism cannot interfere with his expressing divine concepts of voice and tone, he is taking a spiritually mental position which, if faithfully adhered to, will lead to a successful outcome. The singer must know and steadfastly cling to the spiritual fact that voice does not originate in man, but is reflected by man. He should also realize continually that voice is spiritual and that man expresses it.

A common expression among teachers and students of singing is "voice building." If voice building has materiality for its foundation, it is built on sand. David understood the importance of building on a spiritual foundation and declared, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Ps. 127:1). If the building of voice is founded on the spiritual understanding that there is but one voice, the voice of God, it will be enduring. The Christianly scientific teaching on this point is clearly stated by Mrs. Eddy as follows (Science and Health, p. 581): "The higher false knowledge builds on the basis of evidence obtained from the five corporeal senses, the more confusion ensues, and the more certain is the downfall of its structure."

Apparent effort and strain during singing are evidences that one has accepted the belief that voice originates in the physical body, whereas voice exists forever in Mind as idea. A knowledge of the truth of voice, and of man's eternal oneness with Truth, Life, and Love as God's reflection, brings freedom from laborious effort and strain. Power and ability are spiritual qualities, entirely apart from finite material sense, and are effortlessly expressed by man through his reflection of Mind, not through materiality. In Isaiah we read (30:15): "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

Guided in his study by a spiritual understanding of voice, the vocal student can go forward with every assurance of fulfilling his right desire to sing. His God-bestowed knowledge that strength and ability are qualities of divine Mind— always available to man—will aid him in overcoming a personal sense of responsibility and bring freedom from self-consciousness, stage fright, and vocal limitation. It will make him take right human footsteps.

The singer who understands that voice production is a mental process need struggle no longer in bondage to mortal mind's false claims about singing, but can rejoice in the liberating truth that voice is perfect, eternal, unimpaired, and abundantly available in all its spiritual beauty, power, and loveliness.