Sousa's band is usually made up in somewhat the following manner: 4 flutes and piccolos, 12 B♭clarinets, 1 E♭clarinet, 1 alto clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 sarrusophones, 4 saxophones, 4 cornets, 2 trumpets, 1 soprano saxhorn (fluegelhorn), 4 French horns, 4 trombones, 2 contra-bass tubas, 4 tubas, 1 snare drum, 1 bass drum, 2 kettle drums, cymbals, triangle, bells, castanets, xylophone, etc.
Sousa's band is usually made up in somewhat the following manner: 4 flutes and piccolos, 12 B♭clarinets, 1 E♭clarinet, 1 alto clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 sarrusophones, 4 saxophones, 4 cornets, 2 trumpets, 1 soprano saxhorn (fluegelhorn), 4 French horns, 4 trombones, 2 contra-bass tubas, 4 tubas, 1 snare drum, 1 bass drum, 2 kettle drums, cymbals, triangle, bells, castanets, xylophone, etc.
7. Anorchestrais a company of musicians performing upon stringed instruments as well as upon wind and percussion. It is differentiated from the band by the fact that the main body of tone is produced by the strings.
There arefour classes of instrumentsin the orchestra, viz.,strings,wood-wind,brass(wind) andpercussion. In addition to these four classes, there is theharp, which although a stringed instrument, does not belong in the same group as the other strings because the manner of producing the tone is altogether different.
8. In the first group (thestrings) are found the first and second violins, viola, violoncello (usually spelledcello), and double-bass. The first and second violins are identical in every way (but play different parts), while the other members of the family merely represent larger examples of the same type of instrument.
9. In the second group (thewood-wind) are found the flute, piccolo, oboe, bassoon, English horn, double-bassoon,clarinet, and bass clarinet. The English horn, double-bassoon, bass clarinet, and piccolo are not called for in the older compositions, hence are not always present in the orchestra.
10. In the third group (thebrass choir) are found the French horn, (usually referred to asthe horn), trumpet (sometimes replaced by the cornet) trombone, and tuba.
11. The fourth group (percussion) consists of kettle drums, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, triangle, bells, etc.
12. In an orchestra of about 100 players the proportion of instruments is as about as follows, although it varies somewhat according to the taste of the conductor, the style of composition to be performed, etc.:
18 first violins, 16 second violins, 14 violas, 12 cellos, 10 basses, 1 harp, 3 flutes, 1 piccolo, 3 oboes, 1 English horn, 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 1 contra (or double) bassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 3 kettle drums, 1 bass drum, 1 snare drum, 1 each of triangle, cymbals, bells, and other instruments of percussion, several of which are often manipulated by one performer.
violin13. The cuts and brief descriptions here added will give at least a rudimentary idea of the appearance and possibilities of the instruments most commonly used in bands and orchestras. For fuller descriptions and particulars regarding range, quality, etc., the student is referred to Mason's "The Orchestral Instruments and What They Do," Lavignac's "Music and Musicians," and to the various articles which describe each instrument under its own name in Grove's Dictionary or in any good encyclopaedia. For still fuller details some work on orchestration will have to be consulted.
14. Theviolinhas four strings, tuned thusviolin strings g d' a' e'', these making available a range of about three and one-half octaves (g—c''''). This range[41]may be extended upward somewhatfurther by means ofharmonics, these being produced by lightly touching the string at certain points (while the bow is moving across it) instead of holding it down against the finger-board. The highest string of theviolin(viola and cello also) is often called thechanterellebecause it is most often used for playing the melody. Theviolinordinarily produces but one tone at a time, but bystoppingtwo strings simultaneously and so drawing the bow as to set both in vibration, two tones may be produced at the same time, while three and four tones can be soundedalmostsimultaneously.
violaThemute(orsordino) is a small clamp made of metal, wood, or ivory, which when clipped to the top of the bridge causes the vibrations to be transmitted less freely to the body of the violin, giving rise to a tone modified in quality, and decreased in power.
For certain special effects the player is directed to pluck the string (pizzicato), this method of playing giving rise to a dry, detached tone instead of the smooth, flowing one that is so characteristic of theviolinas commonly played.
Violinsin the orchestra are divided into firsts and seconds, thefirst violinsbeing always seated at the left of the audience and thesecondsat the right.
15. Theviolahas four strings, also tuned in fifths, thusviola strings c g d' a'. Theviolalooks exactly like the violin at a little distance, and is really only a larger sized violin, having a range a fifth lower. Its tone is not so incisive as that of the violin, beingrather heavier—"more gloomy," as it is often described. Theviolais not so useful as the violin as a solo instrument because it is not capable of producing so many varieties of color, nevertheless it is invaluable for certain effects. In orchestral music it is of course one of the most valuable instruments for filling in the harmony. Theviolaplayers are usually seated behind the second violin players in the orchestra.
cello16. Thevioloncelloorcello(sometimes calledbass viol) has four strings, tuned thus:cello strings C G d a. Its range is about three and one-half octaves (from C to e'' or f''), but in solo work this range is sometimes extended much higher. Thecellois much more universally used as a solo instrument than the viola and its tone is capable of a much greater degree of variation. In the orchestra it plays the bass of the string quartet (reinforced by the double-bass), but is also often used for solo passages.Con sordinoandpizzicatopassages occur as often for thecelloas for the violin.
double bass17. Thedouble bassdiffers from the other members of the string family in that it is tuned infourthsinstead of infifths. Its four strings are tuned as followsbass strings EE AA D Gthe entire range of the instrument being from EE to a. In music written for double-bass the notes are always printed an octave higher than the tones are to sound: that is, when the bass-player sees the notebass che playspedal Cthis being done to avoid leger lines. The tone of thebassis much heavier andthe instrument itself is much more clumsy to handle than the other members of the group, hence it is almost never used as a solo instrument but it is invaluable for reinforcing the bass part in orchestral music. The mute is rarely used on thedouble-bass, but thepizzicatoeffect is very common and the bass pizzicato tone is much fuller and richer than that of any other stringed instrument.
18. Theflutehas a range of three octaves.flute range c' c''''It is used in both solo and orchestral playing as well as in bands. The flute was formerly always made of wood, but is at present often made of metal.
19. Thepiccolois a flute playing an octave higher than the one described above. The notes are printed as for the flute, but the player understands that the tone is to sound an octave higher. Thepiccolois used widely in band music and quite often in orchestral music also, but since the tone is so brilliant and penetrating and is incapable of any great variation, it is not suitable for solo performance.
oboecontrabassoonEnglish hornpiccoloflutebassoon
20. The next four instruments to be described (oboe,bassoon,English horn, andcontra bassoon) are often referred to as theoboe familysince the principle of tone production and general manipulation is the same in all four. The tone in these instruments is produced by the vibration of two very thin pieces of cane, which are called together adouble-reed.
bass clarinetclarinetTheoboeis especially valuable in the orchestra as a solo instrument, and its thin, nasal tones are suggestive of rustic, pastoral simplicity, bothoboeandEnglish hornbeing often used by orchestral composers in passages intended to express the idea of rural out-of-door life. TheEnglish hornis also often used in passages where the idea of melancholy and suffering is to be conveyed to the audience. In a military band the oboe corresponds to the first violin of the orchestra.
Thebassoonandcontra-bassoonare used mostly to provide a bass part for the harmony of the wood-wind group, but they are also sometimes employed (especially thebassoon) to depict comic or grotesque effects.
21. The next two types of instruments to be described (clarinetandsaxophone) are alike in that the tone is produced by the vibration of asinglestrip of cane (calledsingle reed) which is held against the lower lip of the player. Theclarinetandbass clarinetare made of wood and are used in both bands and orchestras, but thesaxophoneis usually made of metal, and, the tone being morestrident and penetrating, the instrument is ordinarily used only in combination with other wind instruments,i.e., in bands.
Since the fingering of theclarinetis excessively difficult the performer can play in only certain keys on the same instrument, hence to play in different keysclarinetsin several keys must be provided, there being usually three in all. The music is written as though it were to be played in the key of C, but the tones produced are actually in other keys. For this reason theclarinetis called atransposing instrument. The range of theclarinetis the greatest possessed by any of the wind instruments, that of the clarinet in C being frometog'''.
saxophones
sarrusophoneThesarrusophoneis an instrument with a double-reed. It is made of brass and exists in several sizes, the only one ever used in the orchestra being the double-basssarrusophone, which has approximately the same range as the double-bassoon and is sometimes (but rarely) made use of in the orchestra instead of the latter instrument. The tone of thesarrusophoneis something like that of the bassoon.
French horn22. TheFrench horn(often calledvalve hornor simplyhorn) really consists of a long tube (about 16 feet) which is bent into circular form for convenience in handling. Its range is fromBBtof''. In the orchestraFrench hornsare used in pairs, two of the players taking the higher tones, and two the lower. The tone is intensely mellow but incapable of any extensivevariation, but in spite of this lack of variety the tone itself is so wonderfully beautiful that the instrument is one of the most useful in the orchestra both in solo passages and to fill in the harmony. Thehorn(as well as the trumpet and trombone) differs from most of the wood-wind instruments in that its mouthpiece contains no reed, the lips of the player constituting the vibrating body as they are stretched across the mouthpiece and air is forced against them. Thehornis used in bands as well as in orchestras.
23. The range of thetrumpetistrumpet range g b'', the typical tone being brilliant and ringing. It is used in both band and orchestra, playing the highest parts assigned to the brass choir. Thetrumpetis often replaced in both band and orchestra by its less refined cousin thecornetbecause of the ease with which the latter can be played as compared with the trumpet, and the larger number of players that are available in consequence of this ease of execution.
trumpet
cornet24. Thecornetlooks something like the trumpet, but is not so slim and graceful in appearance. Its tube is only four and one-half feet long, as compared with a length of about eight feet in the trumpet, and sixteen feet in the French horn.
The range of thecornetin B♭is frometob-flat''. The tone is somewhat commonplace as compared with thetrumpet, but because of its great agility in the rendition of trills, repeated tones, etc., it is universally used in all sorts of combinations, even (as noted above) taking the place of the trumpet in many small orchestras.
trombone25. The pitch sounded by thetromboneis altered by lengthening or shortening the tube of which the instrument is constructed, this being possible because the lower part slides into the upper and can be pulled out to increase the total length of the tube through which the air passes. There are usually threetrombonesin the orchestra, each playing a separate part, and the combination of this trio (with thetubareinforcing the bass part) is majestic and thrilling, being powerful enough to dominate the entire orchestra inFortissimopassages. But thetrombonesare useful in soft passages also, and their tone when playing pianissimo is rich, serene, and sonorous.
tuba26. Thebass tubais a member of the saxhorn family[42]andsupplies the lowest part of the brass choir, as the double-bass does in the string choir. It is used in both orchestra and band, being often supported in the larger bands by a still lower-toned member of the same family—thecontra-bass tuba. The range of thetubais fromdouble pedal Gtog'.
27. Thekettle-drumis the most important member of the percussion family and is always used either in pairs or in threes. The size of these instruments varies somewhat with the make, but when two drums are used the diameter is approximately that given under the illustration. The range of a pair ofdrumsisone octaveF fand when but two drums are used the larger one takes the tones from F to about C of this range, and the smaller takes thosefrom about B♭to F. The most common usage is to tune one drum to thetonic, and the other tothe dominantof the key in which the composition is written. The pitch of thekettle-drumcan be varied by increasing or lessening the tension of the head by means of thumb-screws which act on a metal ring.
bass drumcymbals
kettle drums
The other important members of the percussion family are shown on this and the following page, their use being so obvious as to require no detailed explanation.
tambourine
bells
side drumtriangle
harp28. Theharpis one of the oldest of instruments (dating back over 6000 years), but it is only in comparatively recent years that it has been used in the symphony orchestra. Its range is fromdouble pedal C-flattof-flat''''.
The moderndouble-action harphas forty-six strings, which are tuned in half-steps and whole-steps so as to sound the scale of C♭major. It has a series of seven pedals around its base, each pedal having twonotchesbelow it, into either of which the pedal may be lowered and held fast. The first pedal shortens the F♭string so that it now sounds F, (giving the key of G♭); the second oneshortens the C♭string so that it sounds C (giving the key of D♭); the third pedal shortens the G♭string so that it sounds G (giving the key of A♭); the fourth changes D♭to D (giving the key of E♭), and so on until, when all the pedals are fixed in their first notches, the scale of C is sounded instead of C♭as was the case before any of the pedals were depressed. But if the first pedal is now pushed down into the second notch the original F♭string is still further shortened and now sounds the pitch F♯(giving us the key of G), and if all the other pedals are likewise successively lowered to the second notch we get in turn all thesharp keys—D, A, E, B, F♯and C♯, the last-named key being obtained as the result of having all the pedals fixed in their second notches, thus making all the tones of the original C♭scale a whole-step higher so that they now sound the C♯scale.
Chords of not more than four tones for each hand may be played simultaneously on the harp, but arpeggio and scale passages are the rule, and are more successful than simultaneous chords. The notation of harp music is essentially like that of piano music.
Note:—It is usually taken for granted that the student of music is familiar with the significance of such terms asover-tone,equal temperament, etc., and with principles such as that relating to the relation between vibration rates and pitches: the writer has in his own experience found, however, that most students are not at all familiar with such data, and this appendix is therefore added in the hope that a few facts at least regarding the laws of sound may be brought to the attention of some who would otherwise remain in entire ignorance of the subject.
Note:—It is usually taken for granted that the student of music is familiar with the significance of such terms asover-tone,equal temperament, etc., and with principles such as that relating to the relation between vibration rates and pitches: the writer has in his own experience found, however, that most students are not at all familiar with such data, and this appendix is therefore added in the hope that a few facts at least regarding the laws of sound may be brought to the attention of some who would otherwise remain in entire ignorance of the subject.
1.Acousticsis the science which deals with sound and the laws of its production and transmission. Since all sound is caused by vibration,acousticsmay be defined as the science which treats of the phenomena of sound-producing vibration.
2. All sound (as stated above) is produced by vibration of some sort: strike a tuning-fork against the top of a table andseethe vibrations which cause the tone, or, if the fork is a small one and the vibrations cannot be seen, hold it against the edge of a sheet of paper and hear the blows it strikes; or, watch one of the lowest strings of the piano after striking the key a sharp blow; or, look closely at the heavier strings of the violin (or better still, the cello) and watch them oscillate rapidly to and fro as the bow moves across them.
The vibrating body may be a string, a thin piece of wood, a piece of metal, a membrane (cf. drum), the lips (cf. playing the cornet), the vocal cords, etc. Often it is a column of air whose vibrations give rise to the tone, the reed or other medium merely serving to set the air in vibration.
3. Sound istransmittedthrough the air in somewhat this fashion: the vibrating body (a string for example) strikes the air-particles in its immediate vicinity, and they, being in contact with other such air-particles, strike these others, the latter in turn striking yet others, and so on, both a forward and backward movement being set up (oscillation). These particles lie so close together that no movement at all can be detected, and it is only when the disturbance finally reaches the air-particles that are in contact with the ear-drum that any effect is evident.
This phenomenon of sound-transmission may perhaps be made more clear by the old illustration of a series of eight billiard balls in a row on a table: if the first ball is tapped lightly, striking gently against ball number 2, the latter (as well as numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) will not apparently move at all, but ball number 8 at the other end will roll away. The air-particles act upon each other in much this same fashion, the difference being that when they are set in motion by a vibrating body a complete vibration backward and forward causes a similarbackward and forwardmovement of the particles (oscillation) instead of simply aforward jerkas in the case of the billiard balls.
Another way of describing the same process is this: the vibration of some body produces waves in the air (cf. waves in the ocean, which carry water forward but do not themselves move on continuously), these waves spread out spherically (i.e. in all directions) and finally reach the ear, where they set the ear-drum in vibration, thus sending certain sound-stimuli to the nerves of hearing in the inner ear, and thus to the brain.
An important thing to be noted in connection with sound-transmission is that sound will not travel in a vacuum: some kind of a medium is essential for its transmission. This medium may be air, water, a bar of iron or steel, the earth, etc.
4. Therateat which sound travels through the air is about 1100 feet per second, the rapidity varying somewhat with fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In water the rate is much higher than in air (about four times as great)while the velocity of sound through other mediums (ase.g., steel) is sometimes as much as sixteen times as great as through air.
5. Sound, like light, may beintensifiedby a suitable reflecting surface directly back of the vibrating body (cf. sounding board); it may also be reflected by some surface at a distance from its source in such a way that at a certain point (the focus) the sound may be very clearly heard, but at other places, even thosenearerthe source of sound, it can scarcely be heard at all. If there is such a surface in an auditorium (as often occurs) there will be a certain point where everything can be heard very easily, but in the rest of the room it may be very difficult to understand what is being said or sung.
Echoesare caused by sound-reflection, the distance of the reflecting surface from the vibrating body determining the number of syllables that will be echoed.
Theacousticsof an auditorium (i.e., its hearing properties) depend upon the position and nature of the reflecting surfaces and also upon the length of time a sound persists after the vibrating body has stopped. If it persists longer than 2-1/4 or 2-1/3 seconds the room will not be suitable for musical performances because of the mixture of persisting tones with following ones, this causing a blurred effect somewhat like that obtained by playing a series of unrelated chords on the piano while the damper-pedal is held down. The duration of the reverberation depends upon the size and height of the room, material of floor and walls, furniture, size of audience, etc.
6. Sound may be classified roughly intotonesandnoisesalthough the line of cleavage is not always sharply drawn. If I throw stones at the side of a barn, sounds are produced, but they are caused by irregular vibrations of an irregularly constructed surface and are referred to asnoise. But if I tap the head of a kettle-drum, a regular series of vibrations is set up and the resulting sound is referred to astone. In general thematerial of music consists of tones, but for special effects certain noises are also utilized (cf. castanets, etc.).
7. Musical tones have three properties, viz.:
1. Pitch.2. Intensity.3. Quality (timbre).
1. Pitch.
2. Intensity.
3. Quality (timbre).
Bypitchis meant the highness or lowness of tone. It depends upon rate of vibration. If a body vibrates only 8 or 10 times per second no tone is heard at all: but if it vibrates regularly at the rate of 16 or 18 per second a tone of very low pitch is heard. If it vibrates at the rate of 24 the pitch is higher, at 30 higher still, at 200 yet higher, and when a rate of about 38,000 per second has been reached the pitch is so high that most ears cannot perceive it at all. The highest tone that can ordinarily be heard is the E♭four octaves higher than the highest E♭of the piano. The entire range of sound humanly audible is therefore about eleven octaves (rates 16-38,000), but only abouteightof these octaves are utilized for musical purposes. The tones of the piano (with a range of 7-1/3 octaves) are produced by vibration rates approximately between 27 and 4224. In the orchestra the range is slightly more extended, the rates being from 33 to 4752.
Certain interesting facts regarding the relation between vibration-rates and pitches have been worked out: it has been discovered for instance that if the number of vibrations is doubled, the pitch of the resulting tone is an octave higher;i.e., if a string vibrating at the rate of 261 per second gives rise to the pitch c', then a string one-half as long and vibrating twice as rapidly (522) will give rise to the pitch c'',i.e., an octave higher than c'. In the same way it has been found that if the rate is multiplied by 5/4 the pitch of the tone will be amajor thirdhigher; if multiplied by 3/2, aperfect fifthhigher, etc. These laws are often stated thus: the ratio of the octave to the fundamental is as two is to one; that of the major third as five is tofour; that of the perfect fifth as three is to two, and so on through the entire series of pitches embraced within the octave, theratiobeing of course the same for all octaves.
9.Theintensity(loudness or softness) of tones depends upon the amplitude (width) of the vibrations, a louder tone being the result of vibrations of greater amplitude, and vice versa. This may be verified by plucking a long string (on cello or double-bass) and noting that when plucked gently vibrations of small amplitude are set up, while a vigorous pluck results in much wider vibrations, and, consequently, in a louder tone. It should be noted that thepitchof the tone is not affected by the change in amplitude of vibration.
The intensity of tones varies with the medium conveying them, being usually louder at night because the air is then more elastic. Tone intensity is also affected bysympathetic vibrationsset up in other bodies. If two strings of the same length are stretched side by side and one set in vibration so as to produce tone the other will soon begin to vibrate also and the combined tone will be louder than if only one string produced it. This phenomenon is the basis of what is known as resonance (cf. body of violin, resonance cavities of nose and mouth, sounding board of piano, etc.).
10.Qualitydepends upon the shape (or form) of the vibrations which give rise to the tone. A series of simple vibrations will cause a simple (or colorless) tone, while complex vibrations (giving rise to overtones of various kinds and in a variety of proportions) cause more individualistic peculiarities of quality. Quality is affected also by the shape and size of the resonance body. (Cf. last part ofsec. 9above.)
11. Practically every musical tone really consists of a combination of several tones sounding simultaneously, the combined effect upon the ear giving the impression of a single tone. The most important tone of the series is thefundamental, which dominates the combination and gives the pitch,but this fundamental is practically always combined with a greater or less number of faint and elusive attending tones calledovertonesorharmonics. The first of these overtones is the octave above the fundamental; the second is the fifth above this octave; the third, two octaves above the fundamental, and so on through the series as shown in the figure below. The presence of theseovertonesis accounted for by the fact that the string (or other vibrating body) does not merely vibrate in its entirety but has in addition to the principal oscillation a number of sectional movements also. Thus it is easily proved that a string vibrates in halves, thirds, etc., in addition to the principal vibration of the entire string, and it is the vibration of these halves, thirds, etc., which gives rise to theharmonics, orupper partialsas they are often called. The figure showsGreat Cand its first eight overtones. A similar series might be worked out from any other fundamental.
Great C
[Listen]
It will be recalled that in the section (10) dealing withqualitythe statement was made thatqualitydepends upon the shape of the vibrations; it should now be noted that it is the form of these vibrations that determines the nature and proportion of the overtones and hence the quality. Thuse.g., a tone that has too large a proportion of the fourth upper partial (i.e., thethirdof the chord) will bereedyand somewhat unpleasant. This is the case with many voices that are referred to asnasal. Too great a proportion of overtones is what causes certain pianos to sound "tin-panny." The tone produced by a good tuning-fork is almost entirely free from overtones: it has therefore no distinctive quality and is said to be asimpletone. The characteristic tone of the oboe on the other hand has many overtones and is therefore highly individualistic: this enables us to recognize the tone of the instrument even though we cannot see the player. Such a tone is said to becomplex.
12. The mathematical ratio referred to onpage 134, if strictly carried out in tuning a keyboard instrument would cause the half-steps to vary slightly in size, and playing in certain keys (especially those having a number of sharps or flats in the signature) would therefore sound out of tune. There would be many other disadvantages in such a system, notably the inability to modulate freely to other keys, and since modulation is one of the predominant and most striking characteristics of modern music, this would constitute a serious barrier to advances in composition. To obviate these disadvantages a system ofequal temperamentwas invented and has been in universal use since the time of Bach (1685-1750) who was the first prominent composer to use it extensively.Equal temperamentmeans simply dividing the octave into twelve equal parts, thus causing all scales (as played on keyboard instruments at least) to sound exactly alike.
To show the practicability of equal temperament Bach wrote a series of 48preludes and fugues, two in each major and two in each minor key. He called the collection "The Well-tempered Clavichord."
To show the practicability of equal temperament Bach wrote a series of 48preludes and fugues, two in each major and two in each minor key. He called the collection "The Well-tempered Clavichord."
13. Variousstandards of pitchhave existed at different times in the last two centuries, and even now there is no absolute uniformity although conditions are much better than they were even twenty-five years ago. Scientists use what is known as the "scientific standard" (sometimes called the "philosophic standard"), viz., 256 double vibrations for "middle C." This pitch is not in actual use for musical purposes, but is retained for theoretical purposes because of itsconvenience of computation (being a power of 2). In 1885 a conference of musicians at Vienna ratified the pitch giving Middle C 261 vibrations, this having been adopted by the French as their official pitch some 26 years before. In 1891 a convention of piano manufacturers at Philadelphia adopted this same pitch for the United States, and it has been in practically universal use ever since. This pitch (giving Middle C 261 vibrations) is known as "International Pitch."
Concert pitchis slightly higher thanInternational, the difference between the two varying somewhat, but being almost always less than one-half step. This higher pitch is still often used by bands and sometimes by orchestras to give greater brilliancy to the wind instruments.
ReferencesLavignac—Music and Musicians, pp. 1-66.Broadhouse—The Student's Helmholz.Helmholtz—Sensations of Tone.Hamilton—Sound and its Relation to Music.Note:—For a simple and illuminating treatment of the subject from the standpoint of the music student, the books by Lavignac and Hamilton are especially recommended.
References
Lavignac—Music and Musicians, pp. 1-66.
Broadhouse—The Student's Helmholz.
Helmholtz—Sensations of Tone.
Hamilton—Sound and its Relation to Music.
Note:—For a simple and illuminating treatment of the subject from the standpoint of the music student, the books by Lavignac and Hamilton are especially recommended.
A recent writer[43]onvocal terminologymakes the following statement as an introduction to certain remarks advocating a more definite use of terms relating to tone production by the human voice:—"The correct use of words is the most potent factor in the development of the thinker." If this statement has any basis of fact whatsoever to support it then it must be evident to the merest novice in musical work that the popular use of many common terms by musicians is keeping a good many people from clear and logical thought in a field that needs accurate thinkers very badly! However this may be, it must be patent to all that our present terminology is in many respects neither correct nor logical, and the movement inaugurated by the Music Section of the National Education Association some years ago to secure greater uniformity in the use and definition of certain expressions should therefore not only command the respect and commendation, but the active support of all progressive teachers of music.
Let it be noted at the outset that such reforms as are advocated by the committee will never come into general use while the rank and file of teachers throughout the country merelyapprovethe reports so carefully compiled and submitted each year: these reforms will become effective only as individual teachers make up their minds that the end to be attained is worth the trouble of being careful to use only correctterminology every day for a month, or three months, or a year—whatever length of time may be necessary in order to get the new habits fixed in mind and muscle.
The Terminology Committee was appointed by the Department of Music of the N.E.A. in 1906 and made its first report at Los Angeles in 1907. Since then the indefatigable chairman of the committee (Mr. Chas. I. Rice, of Worcester, Mass.) has contributed generously of both time and strength, and has by his annual reports to the Department set many of us to thinking along certain new lines, and has caused some of us at any rate to adopt in our own teaching certain changes of terminology which have enabled us to make our work more effective.
In his first report Mr. Rice says:
"Any one who has observed the teaching of school music in any considerable number of places in this country cannot fail to have remarked the great diversity of statement employed by different teachers regarding the facts which we are engaged in teaching, and the equal diversity of terminology used in teaching the symbols by which musicians seek to record these facts. To the teacher of exact sciences our picturesque use of the same term to describe two or more entirely different things never ceases to be a marvel.... Thoughtful men and women will become impressed with the untruthfulness of certain statements and little by little change their practice. Others will follow, influenced by example. The revolutionists will deride us for not moving faster while the conservatives will be suspicious of any change."
At this meeting in Los Angeles a list of thirteen points was recommended by the committee and adopted by the Music Department. These points are given in the N.E.A. Volume of Proceedings for 1907, p. 875.
Since 1907 the committee (consisting of Chas. I. Rice, P.C. Hayden, W.B. Kinnear, Leo R. Lewis, and ConstanceBarlow-Smith) have each year selected a number of topics for discussion, and have submitted valuable reports recommending the adoption of certain reforms. Some of the points recommended have usually been rejected by the Department, but many of them have been adopted and the reports of the committee have set many teachers thinking and have made us all more careful in the use and definition of common terms. A complete list of all points adopted by the Department since 1907 has been made by Mr. Rice forSchool Music, and this list is here reprinted from the January, 1913, number of that magazine.
Terminology Adoptions, 1907-19101.Tone:Specific name for a musical sound of definite pitch. Use neithersound, a general term, nornote, a term of notation.2.Interval:The pitch relation betweentwotones. Not properly applicable to a single tone or scale degree. Example: "Sing the fifth tone of the scale." Not "sing the fifth interval of the scale."3.Key:Tones in relation to a tonic. Example: In the key of G.Notin the scale of G. Scales, major and minor are composed of a definite selection from the many tones of the key, and all scales extend through at least one octave of pitch. The chromatic scale utilizes all the tones of a key within the octave.4.Natural:Not a suitable compound to use in naming pitches. Pitch names are eithersimple: B, orcompound: B sharp, B double-sharp, B flat or B double-flat, and there is no pitch named "B natural." Example: Pitch B,not"B natural."Note:—L.R.L. thinks that B natural should be the name when the notation suggests it.5.Step, Half-step:Terms of intervalmeasurement. Avoidtone,semi-toneorhalf-tone. Major second and minor second are intervalnames. Example: How large are the following intervals? (1) Major second, (2) minor second, (3) augmented prime. Answer: (1) a step, (2) a half-step, (3) a half-step.6.Chromatic:A tone of the key which is not a member of its diatonic scale. (N.B.) An accidental (a notation sign) is not a chromatic signunlessit makes a staff-degree represent a chromatic tone.7.Major; Minor:Major and Minor keys having the same signature should be called relative major and minor. Major and minor keys having the same tonic, but different signatures, should be called tonic major and minor. Not "parallel" major or minor in either case.8.Staff:Five horizontal lines and their spaces. Stafflinesare named (numbered) upward in order, first to fifth.Spaces:Space below, first-second-third-fourth-space, and space above[44]. (Six in all.) Additional short lines and their short spaces numbered outward both ways from the main staff, viz: line below, second space below. The boundary of the staff is always a space.9.G Clef, F Clef, C Clef:These clefs when placed upon the staff, give its degrees their first, or primary pitch meaning. Each makes the degree it occupies represent a pitch of its respective name. Example: The G clef makes the second line represent the pitch G. Avoid "fixes G on." The staff with clef in position represents only pitches havingsimpleorone-wordnames, A, B, C, etc.10.Sharps, Flats:Given a staff with clef in position as in example above, sharps and flats make staff degrees upon which they are placed represent pitches a half-step higher or lower. These pitches have compound or two-word names. Example: The second line stands for the pitch G (simple name). Sharp the second line and it will stand for the pitch G sharp. (Compound name.) The third line stands for the pitch B. (Simple name.) Flat it, and the line will stand for the pitch B flat. (Compound name.) N.B. These signs do not "raise" or "lower" notes, tones, pitches, letters or staff degrees.11.Double-sharp, Double-flat:Given a staff with three or more degrees sharped in the signature, double-sharps are used (subject to the rules governing composition) to make certain of these degrees, already sharped, represent pitches one half-step higher yet. Similarly, when three or more degrees are flatted in the signature, double-flats are used to make certain degrees already flatted, represent pitches one half-step lower yet. Examples: To represent sharp 2 in the key of B major, double-sharp the C degree, or (equally good) double-sharp the third space (G clef). To represent flat 6 in the key of D flat major, double-flat the B degree, or (equally good) double flat the third line (G clef).Do not say: "Put a double-sharp on 6" or "put a double-sharp on C," or "indicate"a higher or lower pitch "on" a sharped or flatted degree.12.Signature:Sharps or flats used as signatures affect the staff degrees they occupy and all octaves of the same. Example: With signature of four sharps, the first one affects the fifth line and the first space; the second, the third space; the third, the space above and the second line; the fourth, the fourth line and the space below.Do not say: "F and C are sharped," "ti is sharped," "B is flatted," "fa is flatted." "Sharpened" or "flattened" are undesirable.13.Brace:The two or more staffs containing parts to be sounded together; also the vertical line or bracket connecting such staffs.Not"line" or "score." "Staff" is better than "line" for a single staff, and "score" is used meaning the book containing an entire work, as "vocal score," "orchestral score," "full score."14.Notes:Notes are characters designed to represent relative duration. When placed on staff-degrees theyindicatepitch. (Note the difference between "represent" and "indicate.") "Sing what the note calls for" means, sing a tone of the pitch represented by the staff degree occupied by the note-head. The answer to the question: "What is that note?" would be "half-note," "eighth-note" according to the denomination of the note in question, whether it was on or off the staff.15.Measure-sign:4-4, 2-4, 6-8, aremeasure-signs. Avoid "time signatures," "meter-signatures," "the fraction," "time-marks." Example: What is the measure-sign? (C) Ans. A broken circle. What is its meaning? Ans. Four-quarter measure. (Not four-four time, four-four rhythm, four-four meter.)16.Note Placing:Place a quarter note on the fourth line. Not "put a quarter note on D."17.Beat-Pulse:A tone or rest occurs on a certain beat or pulse of a measure. Not on a certaincount.18.Signature Terminology:The right hand sharp in the signature is on the staff degree that represents seven of the major scale. Not "always on 7 or ti."19.Signature Terminology:The right hand flat in the signature is on the staff degree that represents four of the major scale. Not "always on fa."20.Rote, Note, Syllable:Singing by rote means that the singer sings something learned by ear without regard to notes. Singing by note means that the singer is guided to the correct pitch by visible notes. Singing by syllable means that the singer sings the tones of a song or part to the sol-fa syllables instead of to words, neutral vowels or the hum. "Sing by note" is not correct if the direction means simply to sing thesol-fa syllables, whether in sight reading, rote singing, or memory work. "Sing by syllable" would be correct in each case.Adoptions of the 1911 Meeting at San FranciscoArabic numerals, either 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, or 12, placed on the staff directly after the signature and above the third line, show the number of beats in a measure.A note, either a quarter or a dotted quarter, placed in parenthesis under the numeral, represents the length of one beat and is called the beat-note.The numeral and the beat-note thus grouped constitute the measure-sign.Illustrative statements covering proper terminology: the tune "America" is written in three-quarter measure. The chorus: "How lovely are the Messengers" is written in two-dotted quarter measure.The above forms of statement were adopted at Denver in 1909, and are recommended for general use when speaking of music written with the conventional measure-signs, etc.In place of: "two-two time, three-eight time, four-four time," say as above: "This piece is written in two-half measure, three-eighth measure, four-quarter measure."Minor ScalesPrimitive Minor (ascending)The minor scale form having minor sixth and minor seventh above tonic to be called Primitive Minor.Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a flat, b flat, c.Transcriber's Note:Above, supplied b flat missing from original.Primitive Minor (descending)Same pitches in reverse order.Harmonic Minor (ascending)The minor scale form having minor sixth and major seventh above tonic to be called Harmonic Minor.Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f, g sharp, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a flat, b, c.Harmonic Minor (descending)Same pitches in reverse order.Melodic Minor (ascending)The minor scale form having major sixth and major seventh above tonic to be called Melodic Minor.Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f sharp, g sharp, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a, b, c.Melodic Minor (descending)Same as the Primitive.Adoptions of the 1912 Meeting at ChicagoPulse and BeatThe Committee finds that the words: Pulse and Beat are in general use as synonymous terms, meaning one of the succession of throbs or impulses of which we are conscious when listening to music. Each of these pulses or beats has an exact point of beginning, a duration, and an exact point of ending, the latter coincident with the beginning of the next pulse or beat. When thus used, both words are terms of ear.BeatOne of these words, Beat, is also in universal use, meaning one of a series of physical motions by means of which a conductor holds his group of performers to a uniform movement.When thus used it becomes a term of eye.The conductor's baton, if it is to be authoritative, cannot wander about through the whole duration of the pulse but must move quickly to a point of comparative repose, remaining until just before the arrival of the next pulse when it again makes a rapid swing, finishing coincidently with the initial tone (or silence) of the new pulse.Thus it is practically the end of the conductor's beat that marks the beginning of the pulse.The Committee is of opinion that Beat might preferably be used as indicating the outward sign.Beat-NoteThis term "beat-note" is already in use in another important connection (see Terminology Report, 1911) and the Committee recommends that those using the above terms shall say: "This note is an on-the-beat note; this one is an after-the-beat note; this one a before-the-beat note."DefinitionsMatters of EarPulse: The unit of movement in music, one of a series of regularly recurring throbs or impulses.Measure: A group of pulses.Pulse-Group: Two or more tones grouped within the pulse.Matters of EyeBeat: One of a series of conventional movements made by the conductor. This might include any unconventional motion which served to mark the movement of the music, whether made by conductor, performer or auditor.Beat-Note: A note of the denomination indicated by the measure-sign as the unit of note-value in a given measure.ExampleGiven the following measure-signs: 2-4, 2-2, 2-8, quarter, half, or eighth notes, respectively, are beat-notes.Beat-Group: A group of notes or notes and rests, of smaller denomination than the beat-note which represents a full beat from beginning to end and is equal in value to the beat-note. (A beat-group may begin with a rest.)On-the-Beat Note (or rest): Any note (or rest) ranging in value from a full beat down, which calls for musical action (or inaction) synchronously with the conductor's beat.After-the-Beat Note: Any note in a beat-group which indicates that a tone is to be sounded after the beginning, and before or at the middle of the pulse.Before-the-Beat Note: Any note in a beat-group which indicates that a tone is to be sounded after the middle of the pulse.To illustrate terminology and to differentiate between Pulse and Beat as terms, respectively of ear and eye, the following is submitted:Whenever a brief tone involves the musical idea of syncopation, it may be regarded as an after-the-pulse tone and the note that calls for it as an after-the-beat note; when it involves the idea of anticipation or preparation it may be regarded as a before-the-pulse tone, and the note that calls for it, as a before-the-beat note.Measure and Meter"What is the measure-sign?""What is the meter-signature?"These two words are used synonymously, and one of them is unnecessary. The Committee recommends that Measure be retained and used. Meter has its use in connection with hymns.
Terminology Adoptions, 1907-1910
1.Tone:Specific name for a musical sound of definite pitch. Use neithersound, a general term, nornote, a term of notation.
2.Interval:The pitch relation betweentwotones. Not properly applicable to a single tone or scale degree. Example: "Sing the fifth tone of the scale." Not "sing the fifth interval of the scale."
3.Key:Tones in relation to a tonic. Example: In the key of G.Notin the scale of G. Scales, major and minor are composed of a definite selection from the many tones of the key, and all scales extend through at least one octave of pitch. The chromatic scale utilizes all the tones of a key within the octave.
4.Natural:Not a suitable compound to use in naming pitches. Pitch names are eithersimple: B, orcompound: B sharp, B double-sharp, B flat or B double-flat, and there is no pitch named "B natural." Example: Pitch B,not"B natural."
Note:—L.R.L. thinks that B natural should be the name when the notation suggests it.
5.Step, Half-step:Terms of intervalmeasurement. Avoidtone,semi-toneorhalf-tone. Major second and minor second are intervalnames. Example: How large are the following intervals? (1) Major second, (2) minor second, (3) augmented prime. Answer: (1) a step, (2) a half-step, (3) a half-step.
6.Chromatic:A tone of the key which is not a member of its diatonic scale. (N.B.) An accidental (a notation sign) is not a chromatic signunlessit makes a staff-degree represent a chromatic tone.
7.Major; Minor:Major and Minor keys having the same signature should be called relative major and minor. Major and minor keys having the same tonic, but different signatures, should be called tonic major and minor. Not "parallel" major or minor in either case.
8.Staff:Five horizontal lines and their spaces. Stafflinesare named (numbered) upward in order, first to fifth.Spaces:Space below, first-second-third-fourth-space, and space above[44]. (Six in all.) Additional short lines and their short spaces numbered outward both ways from the main staff, viz: line below, second space below. The boundary of the staff is always a space.
9.G Clef, F Clef, C Clef:These clefs when placed upon the staff, give its degrees their first, or primary pitch meaning. Each makes the degree it occupies represent a pitch of its respective name. Example: The G clef makes the second line represent the pitch G. Avoid "fixes G on." The staff with clef in position represents only pitches havingsimpleorone-wordnames, A, B, C, etc.
10.Sharps, Flats:Given a staff with clef in position as in example above, sharps and flats make staff degrees upon which they are placed represent pitches a half-step higher or lower. These pitches have compound or two-word names. Example: The second line stands for the pitch G (simple name). Sharp the second line and it will stand for the pitch G sharp. (Compound name.) The third line stands for the pitch B. (Simple name.) Flat it, and the line will stand for the pitch B flat. (Compound name.) N.B. These signs do not "raise" or "lower" notes, tones, pitches, letters or staff degrees.
11.Double-sharp, Double-flat:Given a staff with three or more degrees sharped in the signature, double-sharps are used (subject to the rules governing composition) to make certain of these degrees, already sharped, represent pitches one half-step higher yet. Similarly, when three or more degrees are flatted in the signature, double-flats are used to make certain degrees already flatted, represent pitches one half-step lower yet. Examples: To represent sharp 2 in the key of B major, double-sharp the C degree, or (equally good) double-sharp the third space (G clef). To represent flat 6 in the key of D flat major, double-flat the B degree, or (equally good) double flat the third line (G clef).Do not say: "Put a double-sharp on 6" or "put a double-sharp on C," or "indicate"a higher or lower pitch "on" a sharped or flatted degree.
12.Signature:Sharps or flats used as signatures affect the staff degrees they occupy and all octaves of the same. Example: With signature of four sharps, the first one affects the fifth line and the first space; the second, the third space; the third, the space above and the second line; the fourth, the fourth line and the space below.Do not say: "F and C are sharped," "ti is sharped," "B is flatted," "fa is flatted." "Sharpened" or "flattened" are undesirable.
13.Brace:The two or more staffs containing parts to be sounded together; also the vertical line or bracket connecting such staffs.Not"line" or "score." "Staff" is better than "line" for a single staff, and "score" is used meaning the book containing an entire work, as "vocal score," "orchestral score," "full score."
14.Notes:Notes are characters designed to represent relative duration. When placed on staff-degrees theyindicatepitch. (Note the difference between "represent" and "indicate.") "Sing what the note calls for" means, sing a tone of the pitch represented by the staff degree occupied by the note-head. The answer to the question: "What is that note?" would be "half-note," "eighth-note" according to the denomination of the note in question, whether it was on or off the staff.
15.Measure-sign:4-4, 2-4, 6-8, aremeasure-signs. Avoid "time signatures," "meter-signatures," "the fraction," "time-marks." Example: What is the measure-sign? (C) Ans. A broken circle. What is its meaning? Ans. Four-quarter measure. (Not four-four time, four-four rhythm, four-four meter.)
16.Note Placing:Place a quarter note on the fourth line. Not "put a quarter note on D."
17.Beat-Pulse:A tone or rest occurs on a certain beat or pulse of a measure. Not on a certaincount.
18.Signature Terminology:The right hand sharp in the signature is on the staff degree that represents seven of the major scale. Not "always on 7 or ti."
19.Signature Terminology:The right hand flat in the signature is on the staff degree that represents four of the major scale. Not "always on fa."
20.Rote, Note, Syllable:Singing by rote means that the singer sings something learned by ear without regard to notes. Singing by note means that the singer is guided to the correct pitch by visible notes. Singing by syllable means that the singer sings the tones of a song or part to the sol-fa syllables instead of to words, neutral vowels or the hum. "Sing by note" is not correct if the direction means simply to sing thesol-fa syllables, whether in sight reading, rote singing, or memory work. "Sing by syllable" would be correct in each case.
Adoptions of the 1911 Meeting at San Francisco
Arabic numerals, either 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, or 12, placed on the staff directly after the signature and above the third line, show the number of beats in a measure.
A note, either a quarter or a dotted quarter, placed in parenthesis under the numeral, represents the length of one beat and is called the beat-note.
The numeral and the beat-note thus grouped constitute the measure-sign.
Illustrative statements covering proper terminology: the tune "America" is written in three-quarter measure. The chorus: "How lovely are the Messengers" is written in two-dotted quarter measure.
The above forms of statement were adopted at Denver in 1909, and are recommended for general use when speaking of music written with the conventional measure-signs, etc.
In place of: "two-two time, three-eight time, four-four time," say as above: "This piece is written in two-half measure, three-eighth measure, four-quarter measure."
Minor Scales
Primitive Minor (ascending)
The minor scale form having minor sixth and minor seventh above tonic to be called Primitive Minor.
Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a flat, b flat, c.
Transcriber's Note:Above, supplied b flat missing from original.
Primitive Minor (descending)
Same pitches in reverse order.
Harmonic Minor (ascending)
The minor scale form having minor sixth and major seventh above tonic to be called Harmonic Minor.
Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f, g sharp, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a flat, b, c.
Harmonic Minor (descending)
Same pitches in reverse order.
Melodic Minor (ascending)
The minor scale form having major sixth and major seventh above tonic to be called Melodic Minor.
Illustrative examples. A minor: a, b, c, d, e, f sharp, g sharp, a; C minor: c, d, e flat, f, g, a, b, c.
Melodic Minor (descending)
Same as the Primitive.
Adoptions of the 1912 Meeting at Chicago
Pulse and Beat
The Committee finds that the words: Pulse and Beat are in general use as synonymous terms, meaning one of the succession of throbs or impulses of which we are conscious when listening to music. Each of these pulses or beats has an exact point of beginning, a duration, and an exact point of ending, the latter coincident with the beginning of the next pulse or beat. When thus used, both words are terms of ear.
Beat
One of these words, Beat, is also in universal use, meaning one of a series of physical motions by means of which a conductor holds his group of performers to a uniform movement.
When thus used it becomes a term of eye.
The conductor's baton, if it is to be authoritative, cannot wander about through the whole duration of the pulse but must move quickly to a point of comparative repose, remaining until just before the arrival of the next pulse when it again makes a rapid swing, finishing coincidently with the initial tone (or silence) of the new pulse.
Thus it is practically the end of the conductor's beat that marks the beginning of the pulse.
The Committee is of opinion that Beat might preferably be used as indicating the outward sign.
Beat-Note
This term "beat-note" is already in use in another important connection (see Terminology Report, 1911) and the Committee recommends that those using the above terms shall say: "This note is an on-the-beat note; this one is an after-the-beat note; this one a before-the-beat note."
Definitions
Matters of Ear
Pulse: The unit of movement in music, one of a series of regularly recurring throbs or impulses.
Measure: A group of pulses.
Pulse-Group: Two or more tones grouped within the pulse.
Matters of Eye
Beat: One of a series of conventional movements made by the conductor. This might include any unconventional motion which served to mark the movement of the music, whether made by conductor, performer or auditor.
Beat-Note: A note of the denomination indicated by the measure-sign as the unit of note-value in a given measure.
Example
Given the following measure-signs: 2-4, 2-2, 2-8, quarter, half, or eighth notes, respectively, are beat-notes.
Beat-Group: A group of notes or notes and rests, of smaller denomination than the beat-note which represents a full beat from beginning to end and is equal in value to the beat-note. (A beat-group may begin with a rest.)
On-the-Beat Note (or rest): Any note (or rest) ranging in value from a full beat down, which calls for musical action (or inaction) synchronously with the conductor's beat.
After-the-Beat Note: Any note in a beat-group which indicates that a tone is to be sounded after the beginning, and before or at the middle of the pulse.
Before-the-Beat Note: Any note in a beat-group which indicates that a tone is to be sounded after the middle of the pulse.
To illustrate terminology and to differentiate between Pulse and Beat as terms, respectively of ear and eye, the following is submitted:
Whenever a brief tone involves the musical idea of syncopation, it may be regarded as an after-the-pulse tone and the note that calls for it as an after-the-beat note; when it involves the idea of anticipation or preparation it may be regarded as a before-the-pulse tone, and the note that calls for it, as a before-the-beat note.
Measure and Meter
"What is the measure-sign?"
"What is the meter-signature?"
These two words are used synonymously, and one of them is unnecessary. The Committee recommends that Measure be retained and used. Meter has its use in connection with hymns.
The author does not find it possible at present to agree with all the recommendations made in the above report, but the summary is printed in full for the sake of completeness.
The Music Teacher's National Association has also interested itself mildly in the subject of terminology reform, and at its meeting in Washington, D.C., in 1908, Professor Waldo S. Pratt gave his address as president of the Association on the subject "System and Precision in Musical Speech." This address interested the members of the Association to such an extent that Professor Pratt was asked to act as a committee whose purpose it should be to look into the matter of reforms necessary in music terminology and report at a later session. In 1910 Professor Pratt read a report in which he advocated the idea of making some changes in music nomenclature, but took the ground that the subject is too comprehensive to be mastered in the short time that can be given to it by a committee, and that it is therefore impossible to recommend specific changes. He also took occasion to remark that one difficulty in the whole matter of terminology is that many terms and expressions are usedcolloquiallyand that such use although usually not scientific, is often not distinctly harmful and is not of sufficient importance to cause undue excitement on the part of reformers. Quoting from the report at this point:—"A great deal of confusion is more apparent than real betweennoteandtone, betweenstepanddegree, betweenkeyandtonality. No practical harm is done by speaking of thefirst noteof a piece when reallyfirst tonewould be moreaccurate. To say that a piece is writtenin the key of B♭is more convenient than to say that it is written in thetonality of which B♭is the tonic. The truth is that some of the niceties of expression upon which insistence is occasionally laid are merely fussy, not because they have not some sort of reason, but because they fail to take into account the practical difference between colloquial or off-hand speech and the diction of a scientific treatise. This is said without forgetting that colloquialism always needs watching and that some people form the habit of being careless or positively uncouth as if it were a mark of high artistic genius."
Professor Pratt's report is thus seen to be philosophic rather than constructive, and terminology reform will undoubtedly make more immediate progress through the efforts of the N.E.A. Committee with its specific recommendations (even though these are sometimes admittedlyfussy) than through the policy of the M.T.N.A. of waiting for some one to get time to take up the subject in a scholarly way. Nevertheless the philosophic view is sometimes badly needed, especially when the spirit of reform becomes too rabid and attaches too great importance to trifles. A judicious intermingling of the two committees in a series of joint meetings would undoubtedly result in mutual helpfulness, and possibly also in a more tangible and convincing statement of principles than has yet been formulated by either.
Analysis byArthur E. Heacox,Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Transcriber's Note:The original book contains only the first movement of the sonata. Click on the "Enlarge" link below each page image to view a larger version of that page. To listen to the music, clickhere.
First Subject 17 measures, E♭major, as follows: 8 meas. presentation, one meas. link, 8 meas. repetition oct. higher. Rhythmic elements are A, B, C, all presented in first 8 meas.
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eh = a as in face; ah = a as in far; ch = ch as in chair; final eh = e as in met.