Place your hands as in the first position, exhale, then inhale and, while you keep the ribs extended against your hands, which is done by holding the breath and by muscular tension, speak the sentence, "This is a beautiful day," then exhale, inhale again, holding the breath while you repeat the sentence. Repeat this several times, then drop your arms to the sides and rest. It is better at the beginning to take =too little= breath than to take =too much=. Most beginners take too much breath, which makes it impossible to control it. Until you understand control of the breath, it is better to only take enough to extend your ribs against your hand as far as they will go =without discomfort=. Don't let anyone tell you that "diaphragmatic," "intercostal" or "abdominal" breathing =alone= is the only safe course; perfect breathing is a =combination= of these and more. By practicing the above exercises you will find in a short time all the organs that nature intended to be used for breathing will be in play. The reason the beginner is instructed to place the hands on the ribs is to work from the =central= point, and as the student progresses, by continuation of the exercises it will be found that the costal, intercostal, dorsal, diaphragmatic and abdominal muscles are all doing their share. Place your hands as in the first position. =Exhale--inhale.= Sustain the syllable "saw" on an easy medium tone. As you attack the tone do not let the ribs collapse, but as you sustain it, let the ribs very slowly collapse under the palm of your hands. Try to resist so as to not let too much breath escape. Don't let your chest collapse any more than is absolutely necessary. The lower the tones you sing the =less= resistance you need, while the higher tones you sing the =more= resistance you need. In order to sustain a high tone, =draw in= slightly under the ribs, leaving the chest extended. Singing the tone, now takes the place of the =exhaling= exercise. [Illustration: musical notation, saw ...saw ...saw ...] The word "saw," besides giving you the vowel "ä," also gives you the correct sound of the Italian "ah" and what the "ah" should be in singing. The average beginner sings too much on the tone color of "a" as in =hat=, which, as you ascend the scale, would finally land the tone in the region of the back of your neck. In learning to sing the "ah" or Italian "ä," always use words like "saw," "raw," "law," "paw," "daw," "gnaw," sustaining the tone. THE VOWELS a e i o u Pronounced: a as ä in saw e as a in fate i as ee in meet o as o in note u as oo in moon Example-- [Illustration: musical notation demonstrating pronounciation ä ā ee o oo]