Polyphonism, in its entertainment sense, is the imitation of sounds other than speech, such as the humming of bees, the bleating of sheep, the lowing of cattle, the braying of a donkey, or the noise made by planing, sawing, the drawing of a glass of soda, etc., many of which cannot be made ventriloquially, and so form no deception as to the source from which they emanate. A few general hints will aid you in making a be­ginning, and with practice you can produce most of the imitations with sufficient accuracy simply by following the instructions given.

The Mosquito.—Beginning first with the sim­pler sounds try that made by a mosquito. For this you hold your throat and mouth in exactly the same position as for the ventriloquial drone, only you make the sound very shrill—in fact, at the very highest pitch you can reach—while at the same time straining with the chest.

A Bee.—With the vocal organs in the drone position use considerable pressure upon the chest and make the pitch lower than for the mosquito. Produce a handkerchief, and as you sound the drone chase the imaginary bee about the room. After pretending to catch it, put the handker­chief containing the bee (?) into the pocket. Then, apparently forgetting that it is there, pro­duce the handkerchief and appear to allow the bee to escape.

Bluebottle.—The sound of this fly is made by blowing through the lips until they vibrate rapidly while you are uttering a droning sound —not the ventriloquial drone, however, but a near moan about the pitch of the hum of a bluebottle. The vibration of the lips gives the sound made by the vibration of the wings, which, reinforced by the added moan, forms a realistic though rather exaggerated imitation of the insect. Chase this also about the room and when you want to take breath cause it to rest for a moment on the curtains or on the wall. Having gained your breath start the fly again by a flip of your handkerchief and chase it until you either cap­ture it or it gets away. Your first attempts at getting the near hum of a bluebottle will result in a good deal of spluttering, and its attainment will be accelerated or retarded according to the formation of your lips.
Parrot.—For this bird and his talk use the Punch voice, but you must carefully avoid all labials as the bird does. By going to a cage and giving the imitation boldly no one could tell it was not the parrot speaking.

Ducks.—Don't say "Quack," because a duck, having no lips, does not say "quack," though he is generally credited with doing so. If you don't use your lips and try to say "'Uack," opening your mouth as wide as you can, as the duck does his bill, and make the exaggerated action of the throat which he does also, you will get the imita­tion right. The first "'uack" must be loud and the following ones quick and fainter. Visit a duck pond with a loaf of bread, and the ducks themselves will instruct you as long as the bread lasts.

Cat.—The household pet does not say "me-iow" as generally believed, but "eiow," which may be imitated with little difficulty with the Punch voice.

Donkey.—The donkey makes his preliminary squeak by drawing in his breath, and this may be imitated with the Punch voice also. Practice the braying from nature, and do the whole imita­tion, while exhaling.

House Fly.—Close the lips tightly except at one corner and, after filling the cheek full of wind force the latter to escape through the aperture.

Cock Crowing.—Almost any one can makesome shift at crowing like a cock, but there are as many varieties of crowing as there are spiders. For the Bantam's crow use the Punch voice, and you will get it at once.. For other kinds you partly assume the ventriloquial position as re­gards the chest. Crowing is usually heard at a distance, not close at hand, so a slightly ven­triloquial effect is the most truthful.

Circular Saw.—The revolving hum of a circu­lar saw has the sound of a grossly exaggerated bluebottle. By protruding the lips, closing them and blowing through them without making any vocal sound, you will soon be reminded of a sawmill in full operation. Slightly alter theposition of the lips to simulate the difference of tone made from the initial incision of the saw into the timber to its exit. Exhale more slowly as the saw is supposed to slow down, and use more breath to get its regular hum when revolv­ing rapidly. The pitch grows higher as the saw is supposed to revolve faster.

Wood Saw.—This imitation has the sound of a harsh hiss, made by forcing the air out between the teeth at one corner of the mouth, which gives the downward movement of the saw, while the air is drawn in to represent the upward move­ment. Imitate the motion of the saw with your hands while placing one knee on a chair-seat as if holding a stick of wood. The sound of sawing may also be made by breathing through saliva at the roof of the mouth. It should be jerky and not continuous, and each advancing cut is sug­gested by making the imitation more and more at the back of the palate. It is also a sort of "hawking" sound, and by pressing the lips to­gether and forcing them open with expelled air you will seem to strike a knot in the wood, which will cause a laugh. A meat or small hand-saw can be imitated by the "hawking" method in a higher key, with the addition of a hissing sound.
Planning.—By forcing the air against the tongue and teeth and dwelling on the syllable "sh" or "tsh" you will get the sound right. Take a book and, holding it so that it does not quite touch the table, use it as you would a plane, making the sound in perfect time with the move­ment, so that it will cease abruptly the instant your hands leave the table; then repeat.

Drawing Soda.—This is a milder form of the sound used in imitating planing. Take a tumbler and pretend to draw a glass of soda from an imaginary fountain, at the same time forcing the air between the teeth at one corner of the mouth. Raise the tumbler to your mouth and get the fizzing of the soda by prolonging the sound made in a whispered "s," changing to "z" when your mouth is covered by the glass, and back again to "s" while pretending to drink, gradually lessen­ing the sound until the liquid has apparently disappeared.

Water Boiling.—Repeat the liquid consonants "11" as in the Welsh name "Langollen," which will give you the same sound as made by water boiling or hissing. By using "s-z" alternately you can produce the sound of something frying or stewing. Take two empty plates and, using one as a cover to the other, pretend to cook a chop or steak. By modulating the hissing sounds of these consonants, the fancied meat will ap­parently be stewing or frying. If the top plate is raised a little the sound will suitably be made louder by a well-timed guttural effort simulated by gurgling.

Wind.—Listen to the various sounds made by the wind and try to make them by saying "huzz" in a prolonged fashion against the front of the teeth. For a high wind use a high pitch.

Tearing Linen—After you have chased the bee with the handkerchief pretend to tear the latter by passing it quickly between the thumb and forefinger and forcing air between your lips, which should be lightly pressed together.

Musical Instruments

As a rule the imitation of musical instruments becomes tiresome, as any imitation will, if con­tinued too long. Many performers, however, have brought this sort of polyphonism to a high state of development.

Banjo.—Say "Pang" in the same fashion as you say "'uack" for a duck, with the difference that the "P" is articulated. By substituting "Tang" you can use your tongue more and give the sound of the old-fashioned roll by saying "Trrr-ang."

Xylophone.—Fix your mouth in position by saying "Oh." Then take your open hands and, holding them so that the right thumb comes a lit­tle below the left, hollow the hand slightly so as to leave a triangular opening above the latter. Separate the hands and bring them sharply to­gether, which will force the air collected between the palms through the triangular opening. This should be brought opposite the opening formed by the lips, which are in the "oh" position de­scribed. The result will be a note. By making the opening of the lips smaller the notes become lower; by making it larger, the notes become higher. The percussion of the air against the lips may cause the latter to swell, so it is well to practice this imitation moderately.

Cornet.—This is made by saying "ta" in the Punch voice. It should not be attempted with the lips, but at the top of the palate, "Ta-ta-ta," the reality of which may be increased by holding the hand half clinched and making the sound through it. By the use of the saliva you can pro­duce the burr that often precedes the clear-blown note.

Clarionet.—Practice on the syllables "tul-le" at the lower back of the mouth, making the sound toward the top as the higher notes are produced. I remember seeing a perfect imitation of this instrument made by a vaudeville performer who used a real clarionet upon which he apparently gave a solo. The illusion was only dispelled when he turned the instrument upside down and showed that it was full of sand.

‘Cello.—To imitate a 'cello correctly avoid labial production and make the sound at the bottom of the mouth; that is, a sort of near ventriloquial bee, and grunt on "ah." If you essay this effect on the low notes, the grunt gives the touch of a rosined bow on the string when making a "down bow." As the bow is drawn across the string, the vibration is increased until it becomes a clear note. "When making the low notes the tongue lies low in the mouth, but raises as you produce the higher notes. The grunt represents the "down bow" and should be absent from the "up bow."
Cymbals.—The imitation of the clash and clang of these brass discs is made by a sneeze, not the "ah-ah-tish-shoo" of the scrub woman, but a short, sharp sneeze sent up through the nose at theback of the mouth.

Drums.—The snare drum is suggested by a roll of the tongue, "perr-rrup" "perr-rrup tut tut" or "tat tat." "Boom, perr-rrup" gives the bass drum followed by the snare drum.