The termalla breveis also sometimes used as a tempo indication, to show a rate of speed so great that a half-note has a beat,i.e., only two beats in a measure—hence twice as fast as before.
The termalla breveis also sometimes used as a tempo indication, to show a rate of speed so great that a half-note has a beat,i.e., only two beats in a measure—hence twice as fast as before.
Alla capella—usually the same as a capella (seep. 76,Sec. 162) but sometimesusedin the same sense asalla breve.
Alla marcia—in march style.
Alla zingara—in gypsy style.
Alt—seein alt.
Alto—the lowest female voice. Range approximately g-e''.
The wordaltois derived from the Latin wordaltus, meaninghigh, the term being formerly applied to the highest male voice, which originally sang (and still does so in many male choirs) the alto part.
The wordaltois derived from the Latin wordaltus, meaninghigh, the term being formerly applied to the highest male voice, which originally sang (and still does so in many male choirs) the alto part.
Animato come sopra—in animated style as above.
Antiphony(antiphonal)—the responsive singing of two choirs, usually one at either end of the church, or at either side of the chancel.
Arabesque—an instrumental composition in light, somewhat fantastic style.
The termarabesqueis derived from the wordArabian, and was originally applied to a style of decoration.
The termarabesqueis derived from the wordArabian, and was originally applied to a style of decoration.
Arioso—in the style of an air or song,i.e., a flowing, vocal style.
Attacca—attack the next division without any pause.
Attacca subito—same asattacca.
Attaccasubito il seguente—attack at once that which follows.
Attack—the promptness or firmness with which a phrase is begun.
Bagpipe—A Scotch instrument on which the tone is produced by a combination of bellows and reeds. Its characteristic effect is the continuous sounding of a low tone (sometimes several tones) while the melody is being played on the higher reeds.
Barcarole(orbarcarolle)—a boat song. Also applied to a vocal or instrumental composition in the style of the gondolier's boat song.
Baritone(orbarytone)—the male voice having a range between that of the tenor and that of the bass. Approximate range G-g'.
Bass—the lowest male voice. Approximate range E-e'.
Basso—same asbass.
Berceuse—a cradle song.
Binary form—a form in two parts.
Binary measure—a measure having two beats.
Bis—twice. Used to indicate a repetition. (Rare.)
Brace—the sign used to join several staffs, showing that all tones represented on these staffs are to be performed together. The term is often used also in referring to the music written on staffs so joined; as—"Begin with the upperbrace."
Broken chord—a chord whose tones are not all sounded simultaneously, ase.g., in an accompaniment group.
Broken octave—an octave whose tones are sounded one at a time instead of simultaneously.
Cacophony—harsh, discordant, unpleasant, especiallyincorrectcombinations of tones. The opposite ofeuphony.
Cadenza—A brilliant passage, usually in an instrumental composition, introduced just before the close of a movement. Thecadenzawas formerly improvised by the performer, (thus giving an opportunity of displaying his technical skill), but since Beethoven, composers have usually written their owncadenzas.
Cantabile—in a singing style.
Cantando—same ascantabile.
Canto—the highest voice part;i.e., the soprano part.
Note the derivation ofcanto,cantabile, etc., from the Latin wordcantus, meaning asong.
Note the derivation ofcanto,cantabile, etc., from the Latin wordcantus, meaning asong.
Carol—a hymn of joyful praise, usually sung in connection with Easter or Christmas festivities. The wordcarolmeant originallya dance, hence thehappycharacter of songs of this type.
Catch—a round set to humorous words.
Chromatic(noun)—a term somewhat loosely applied to any tone not belonging to the key as indicated by the signature. Many teachers are replacing the wordchromaticin this sense with the termintermediate tone, this term being applicable whether the foreign tone is actually used for ornamental purposes as achromatic, or to effect a modulation. Thuse.g., "F♯is theintermediate tonebetween F and G in the key of C."
Clavichord—an instrument with keys, resembling the square piano in appearance. The tone was produced by forcing wedge-shaped pieces of metal against the strings, thus setting them in vibration. Theclavichordwas one of the immediate predecessors of the piano, much of the music written by Bach being composed for it, although this music is now played on the modern piano.
Colla voce—with the voice:i.e., play the accompaniment according to the soloist's performance rather than strictly according to the rhythm indicated in the score.
Colla parte—same ascolla voce.
Coloratura—florid passages in singing. Also applied to the style of singing employed in rendering such passages. (Seep. 76,Sec. 171.)
Consonance—A combination of tones agreeable to the ear and requiring no resolution to other tone-combinations in order to give the effect of finality. The major triad C—E—G is an example of a consonant chord.
Contralto—same asalto.
Con variazioni—with variations.
Direct—a sign (direct) placed at the end of the last staff on a page, to indicate what the first note on the next page is going to be. This sign is now practically obsolete.
Dirge—a funeral chant. The dirge is named from the first word of a chant used in the "office for the dead," which begins—Dirige Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam(Direct, O Lord, My God, my way in Thy sight).
Discord—an ugly, unharmonious combination of tones.
Dissonance—a harmonic combination of tones giving rise to the feeling of incompleteness or unrest, and therefore requiring resolution to some other combination which has an agreeable or final feeling. (cf. consonance.) The diminished triad C—E♭—G♭is an example of a dissonant chord.
Divisi—divided. An indication showing that the first violins, or the sopranos, or any other body of performers ordinarily sounding in unison are now to divide into two or more parts.
Duet—a composition for two performers. (From the It. worddue—two.)
École—a school or style of composition or performance.
Etude—a study. Also an instrumental composition in the style of a study, but intended for artistic performance.
Euphony—agreeable tone combinations; the opposite of cacophony. (From the Greek word meaningwell-sounding.)
Facile—easy.
Fanfare—a trumpet call.
Fantasia—An instrumental composition not based on any regular form.
Fiasco—a complete failure or breakdown.
This use of the wordfiasco(which means in Italian a flask, or bottle) is said to have reference to the bursting of a bottle, the complete ruin of the bottle being compared with the complete failure of a performance.
This use of the wordfiasco(which means in Italian a flask, or bottle) is said to have reference to the bursting of a bottle, the complete ruin of the bottle being compared with the complete failure of a performance.
Gamut—all the tones of a scale.
Glissando—playing a scale on the keyboard by drawing the finger along over the keys, thus depressing them in very rapid succession. The word is derived from the French wordglisser—to glide.
Harpsichord—one of the immediate predecessors of the piano.
Humoresque—a capricious, fantastic composition. (Cf.fantasia.)
Idyl—a short, romantic piece of music in simple and unaffected style.
In alt—pitches in the first octave above the treble staff. Thuse.g., "C in alt" is the C represented by the second added line above the treble staff.
In altissimo—pitches in the octave above thealtoctave.
Instrumentation—seeorchestration.
Interlude—a short movement between two larger movements.
Loco—place;i.e., play as written. (Seep. 15,Sec. 46.)
Lunga trillo—a long trill.
Lyric—a short, song-like poem of simple character. Also applied to instrumental pieces of like character.
Maggiore—major.
Marcato il canto—the melody well marked;i.e., subdue the accompaniment so that the melody may stand out strongly.
Melos—melody. This wordmelosis also applied to the peculiar style of vocal solo found in Wagner's music dramas. Seerecitative(p. 75,Sec. 170).
Mellifluous—pleasing; pleasant sounding.
Menuetto, menuet—same asminuet. (Seep. 68,Sec. 151.)
Mezzo soprano—a woman's voice of soprano quality, but of somewhat lower compass than the soprano voice. Range approximately b to g''.
Minore—minor.
Nocturne(sometimes spellednocturn,notturna,nokturne, etc.)—a night piece; a quiet, melodious, somewhat sentimental composition, usually for piano solo.
Nuance—delicate shading; subtle variations in tempo and dynamics which make the rendition of music more expressive.
Obbligato(sometimes incorrectly spelledobligato)—an accessory melody accompanying harmonized music, (usually vocal music).
The wordobbligato(It.bound, orobliged) refers to the fact that this is usually a melody of independent value, so important that it cannot be omitted in a complete performance.
The wordobbligato(It.bound, orobliged) refers to the fact that this is usually a melody of independent value, so important that it cannot be omitted in a complete performance.
Offertory(sometimes spelledoffertoire, oroffertorium)—a piece of music played or sung during the taking up of the offering in the church service. The word is often applied by composers to any short, simple piece of music (usually for organ) that is suitable for the above purpose.
Opus—work; used by composers to designate the order in which their compositions were written, ase.g., Beethoven, Op. 2, No. 1.
Orchestration—the art of writing for the orchestra, this implying an intimate knowledge of the range, quality, and possibilities of all the orchestral instruments.
Ossia—or else; used most often to call the attention of the performer to a simpler passage that may be substituted for the original one by a player whose skill is not equal to the task he is attempting to perform.
Overture—(fromovert—open)—an instrumental prelude to an opera or oratorio. The olderovertureswere independent compositions and bore no particular relation to the work which was to follow, but in modern music (cf. Wagner, Strauss, etc.), theovertureintroduces the principal themes that are to occur in the work itself, and the introduction thus becomes an integral part of the work as a whole. The wordovertureis sometimes applied to independent orchestral compositions that have no connection with vocal works, as theHebrides Overtureby Mendelssohn.
Pizzicato—plucked. A term found in music for stringed instruments, and indicating that for the moment the bow is not to be used, the tone being secured bypluckingthe string.
Polacca—a Polish dance in three-quarter measure.
Polonaise—same aspolacca.
Postlude—(lit. after-play)—an organ composition to be played at the close of a church service.
Prelude—(lit. before-play)—an instrumental composition to be played at the beginning of a church service, or before some larger work (opera, etc.). The term is also applied to independent piano compositions of somewhat indefinite form. (Cf.preludesby Chopin, Rachmaninoff, etc.)
Prière—a prayer; a term often applied (especially by French composers) to a quiet, devotional composition for organ.
Quintole, quintuplet—a group of five notes to be performed in the time ordinarily given to four notes of the same value. There is only one accent in the group, this occurring of course on the first of the five tones.
Religioso, religiosamente—in a devotional style.
Requiem—the mass for the dead in the Roman Catholic service. It is so called from its first wordrequiemwhich meansrest. (Seep. 77,Sec. 165.)
Rhapsody—an irregular instrumental composition of the nature of an improvisation. A term first applied by Liszt to a series of piano pieces based on gypsy themes.
Ribattuta—a device in instrumental music whereby a two-note phrase is gradually accelerated, even to the extent of becoming a trill. (SeeAppendix E, p. 150, for an example.)
Ritornello, ritornelle—a short instrumental prelude, interlude, or postlude, in a vocal composition, ase.g., in an operatic aria or chorus.
Schottische—a dance in two-quarter measure, something like thepolka.
Sec, secco—dry, unornamented: applied to a style of opera recitative (seep. 75,Sec. 170), and also to some particular chord in an instrumental composition which is to be sounded and almost instantly dropped.
Score—a term used in two senses:
1. To designate some particular point to which teacher or conductor wishes to call attention; ase.g., "Begin with thelower score, third measure." The wordbraceis also frequently used in this sense.2. To refer to all the parts of a composition that are to be performed simultaneously, when they have been assembled on a single page for use by a chorus or orchestral conductor. The termvocal scoreusually means all chorus parts together with an accompaniment arranged for piano or organ, while the termsfull scoreandorchestral scorerefer to a complete assemblage ofall parts, each being printed on a separate staff, but all staffs being braced and barred together.
1. To designate some particular point to which teacher or conductor wishes to call attention; ase.g., "Begin with thelower score, third measure." The wordbraceis also frequently used in this sense.
2. To refer to all the parts of a composition that are to be performed simultaneously, when they have been assembled on a single page for use by a chorus or orchestral conductor. The termvocal scoreusually means all chorus parts together with an accompaniment arranged for piano or organ, while the termsfull scoreandorchestral scorerefer to a complete assemblage ofall parts, each being printed on a separate staff, but all staffs being braced and barred together.
Senza replica, senzarepetizione—without repetition; a term used in connection with such indications asD.C.,D.S., etc., which often call for the repetition of some large division of a composition, the termsenza replicaindicating that the smaller repeats included within the larger division are not to be observed the second time.
Serenade, serenata—an evening song.
Sextet—a composition for six voices or instruments.
Sextuplet—a group of six notes to be performed in the time ordinarily given to four of the same value. The sextuplet differs from a pair oftripletsin having but one accent.
Simile, similiter—the same; indicating that the same general effect is to be continued.
Solfeggio, solfège—a vocal exercise sung either on simple vowels or on arbitrary syllables containing these simple vowel sounds. Its purpose is to develop tone quality and flexibility. These terms are also often applied to classes in sight-singing which use the sol-fa syllables.
Sopra—above.
Soprano—the highest female voice. Range approximately b—c'''.
Sostenuto—sustained or connected; the opposite ofstaccato.
Sotto—under.E.g.,sotto voce—under the voice,i.e., with subdued tone.
Solmization—sight-singing by syllable.
Staccato—detached; the opposite oflegato.
Subito—suddenly.
Tenor—the highest male voice. Range approximately d—c''.
Tenuto—(fromteneo, to hold)—a direction signifying that the tones are to be prolonged to the full value indicated by the notes.
Toccata—a brilliant composition for piano or organ, usually characterized by much rapid staccato playing.
Triplet—a group of three tones, to be performed in the time ordinarily given to two of the same value. The first tone of the triplet is always slightly accented.
Tutti—(derived fromtotus,toti, Latin—all)—a direction signifying that all performers are to take part. Also used occasionally to refer to a passage where all performers do take part.
Many conflicting statements have been made regarding the history and development of music writing, and the student who is seeking light on this subject is often at a loss to determine what actually did happen in the rise of our modern system of writing music. We have one writer for example asserting that staff notation was begun by drawing a single red line across the page, this line representing the pitchf(fourth line, bass staff), theneumae(the predecessors of our modernnotes) standing either for this pitchf, or for a higher or lower pitch, according to their positiononthe line, oraboveorbelowit. "Another line," continues this writer, "this time of yellow color, was soon added above the red one, and this line was to represent c' (middle C). Soon the colors of these lines were omitted and thelettersF and C were placed at the beginning of each of them. From this arose our F and C clefs, which preceded the G clef by some centuries."[37]
Another writer[38]gives a somewhat different explanation, stating that the staff system with the use of clefs came about through writing a letter (C or F) in the margin of the manuscript and drawing a line from this letter to the neume which was to represent the tone for which this particular letter stood.
A third writer[39]asserts that because the alphabetical notation was not suitable for recording melodies because of itsinconvenience in sight-singing "points were placed at definite distances above the words and above and below one another." "In this system ... everything depended on the accuracy with which the points were interspersed, and the scribes, as a guide to the eye, began to scratch a straight line across the page to indicate the position of one particular scale degree from which all the others could be shown by the relative distances of their points. But this was not found sufficiently definite and the scratched line was therefore colored red and a second line was added, colored yellow, indicating the interval of a fifth above the first."
It will be noted that all three writers agree that a certain thing happened, but as in the case of the four Gospels in the New Testament, not all the writers agree on details and it is difficult to determine which account is most nearly accurate in detail as well as in general statement. Communication was much slower a thousand years ago than now and ideas about new methods of doing things did not spread rapidly, consequently it is entirely possible that various men or groups of men in various places worked out a system of notation differing somewhat in details of origin and development but alike in final result. The point is that the development of musical knowledge (rise of part-writing, increased interest in instrumental music, etc.), demanded a more exact system of notation than had previously existed, just as the development of science in the nineteenth century necessitated a more accurate scientific nomenclature, and in both cases the need gave rise to the result as we have it to-day.
Out of the chaos of conflicting statements regarding the development of music notation, the student may glean an outline-knowledge of three fairly distinct periods or stages, each of these stages being intimately bound up with the development ofmusicitself in that period. These three stages are:
(1) The Greek system, which used the letters of the alphabet for representing fixed pitches.(2) The period of the neumae.(3) The period of staff notation.
(1) The Greek system, which used the letters of the alphabet for representing fixed pitches.
(2) The period of the neumae.
(3) The period of staff notation.
Of the Greek system little is known beyond the fact that the letters of the alphabet were used to represent pitches. This method was probably accurate enough, but it was cumbersome, and did not afford any means of writing "measured music" nor did it give the eye any opportunity of grasping the general outline of the melody in its progression upward and downward, as staff notation does. The Greek system seems to have been abandoned at some time preceding the fifth century. At any rate it was about this time that certainaccent marksbegan to be written above the text of the Latin hymns of the church, these marks serving to indicate in a general way the progress of the melody. E.g., an upward stroke of the pen indicated a rise of the melody, a downward stroke a fall, etc. In the course of two or three centuries these marks were added to and modified quite considerably, and the system of notation which thus grew up was called "neume notation," the wordneume(sometimes spelledneuma, orpneuma) being of Greek origin and meaning anodorsign.
This system of neumes was in some ways a retrogression from the Greek letter system, for the neumes indicated neither definite pitches nor definite tone-lengths. But it had this advantage over the Greek system, that the position of the signs on the page indicated graphically to the eye the general direction of the melody, as well as giving at least a hint concerning the relative highness or lowness of each individual tone (the so-calleddiastematic system), and this was a great aid to the eye in singing, just as the relative highness and lowness of notes on the modern staff is of great value in reading music at the present time. Thus although the neumae did not enable one to sing a new melody at sight as ourmodern staff notation does, yet they served very well to recall to the eye the general outline of a melody previously learned by ear and therefore enabled the singer (the system was used for vocal music only) to differentiate between that particular melody and the dozens of others which he probably knew. Neume notation was used mostly in connection with the "plain-song melodies" of the Church, and since the words of these chants were sung as they would be pronounced in reading, the deficiency of the neume system in not expressing definite duration values was not felt. But later on with the rise of so-called "measured music" (cf. invention of opera, development of independent instrumental music, etc.), this lack was seen to be one of the chief disadvantages of the system.
The elements of neume-writing as given by Riemann in his Dictionary of Music are:
"(1) The signs for a single note: Virga (Virgula) and Punctus (Punctum). (2) The sign for a rising interval: Pes (Podatus). (3) The sign for a falling interval: Clinis (Flexa). (4) Some signs for special manners of performance: Tremula (Bebung), Quilisma (shake), Plica (turn), etc. The others were either synonyms of the above-named or combinations of them...."
Since music in the middle ages was always copied by hand, it will readily be understood that these neumae were not uniform either in shape or size, and that each writer made use of certain peculiarities of writing, which, although perfectly intelligible to himself, could not readily be interpreted by others (cf. writing shorthand). Here then we observe the greatest weakness of the neume system—its lack of uniformity and its consequent inability accurately to express musical ideas for universal interpretation.
Examples of several neumes are given merely in order to give the beginner a general idea of their appearance.Virgavirgaorvirga. Punctuspunctusorpunctus. Pespesorpes. Clinisclinisorclinis.
Examples of several neumes are given merely in order to give the beginner a general idea of their appearance.
Virgavirgaorvirga. Punctuspunctusorpunctus. Pespesorpes. Clinisclinisorclinis.
As music grew more and more complex, and especially as writing in several parts came into use (cf. rise of organum, descant, and counterpoint), it became increasingly difficult to express musical ideas on the basis of the old notation, and numerous attempts were made to invent a more accurate and usable system. Among these one of the most interesting was that in which the words of the text were written in the spaces between long, parallel lines, placing the initial letters of the wordstoneandsemi-toneat the beginning of the line to indicate the scale interval. An example will make this clear.
text notation
This indicated the precise melodic interval but did not give any idea of the rhythm, and the natural accents of the text were the only guide the singer had in this direction, as was the case in neume-notation and in early staff-notation also. Various other attempts to invent a more definite notation were made, but all were sporadic, and it was not until the idea of using the lines (later lines and spaces) to represent definite pitches, and writing notes of various shapes (derived from the neumae) to indicate relative duration-values—it was only when this combination of two elements was devised that any one system began to be universally used.
Just how the transition fromneumetostaffnotation was made no one knows: it was not done in a day nor in a year but was the result of a gradual process of evolution and improvement. Nor is it probable that any one man deserves the entire credit for the invention of staff notation, although this feat is commonly attributed to an Italian monk named Guido d'Arezzo (approximate dates 995-1050). To this same monk we are indebted, however, for the invention of thesyllables (UT, RE, MI, etc.) which (in a somewhat modified form) are so widely used for sight-singing purposes. (For a more detailed account of the transition to staff notation, see Grove, op. cit. articlenotation.) It will now be readily seen that our modern notation is the result of a combination of two preceding methods (the Greek letters, and the neumes) together with a new element—the staff, emphasizing the idea thathigher tonesare writtenhigheron the staff than lower ones. The development of the neumes into notes of various shapes indicating relative time values and the division of the staff into measures with a definite measure signature at the beginning are natural developments of the earlier primitive idea. In the system of "musica mensurabilis" ormeasured musicwhich was inaugurated a little later, thevirga(which had meanwhile developed into a square-headed neume) was adopted as thelongaor long note, and the punctus in two of its forms asbreveandsemi-breve(short and half-short). The longa is now extinct, but the modern form of the breve is still used as the double-whole-note, and the semi-breve is our modern whole-note.
Red-colored notes were sometimes used to indicate changes in value and before long outline notes (calledempty notes) came into use, these being easier to make than the solid ones. The transition from square- and diamond-shaped notes to round and oval ones also came about because of the greater facility with which the latter could be written, and for the same reason notes of small denomination were later "tied together" orstroked. This latter usage began about 1700 A.D.
It is interesting to find that when "measured music" was finally inaugurated there were at first but two measure-signatures, viz.—the circle, standing for three-beat measure (the so-calledperfect measure) and the semi-circle (or broken circle) which indicated two-beat measure. Occasionally three-beat measure was indicated by three vertical strokes at thebeginning of the melody, while two-beat measure was shown by two such strokes. Upon the basis of these two varieties of measure, primitive in conception though they may have been, has been built nevertheless the whole system now employed, and in the last analysis all forms of measure now in use will be found to be of either the two-beat or the three-beat variety. The circle has disappeared entirely as a measure-sign, but the broken circle still survives, and from it are derived the familiar signscommon timeandcut-time, which are sometimes erroneously referred to as being the initial letter of our wordcommon(as used in the expression "common time"). The transition from the older style of measure-signature to the present one seems to have occurred during the century following the invention of opera,i.e., from about 1600 to about 1700 A.D.
The rest came into use very soon after "measured music" began to be composed and we soon find rests corresponding with the various denominations of notes in use, viz.:
old rests
The terms applied to these rests vary in different authorities, but it will be noted that thepausa,semi-pausa, andsuspirumcorrespond respectively to the double-whole-rest, whole-rest, and half-rest in use at present.
The bar and double bar may be developments of themaxima rest(as some writers suggest) but are probably also derived from the practice of drawing a line vertically through the various parts of a score to show which notes belonged together, thus facilitating score reading. The bar may occasionally be found as early as 1500, but was not employed universally until 1650 or later.
The number of lines used in the staff has varied greatly since the time of Guido, there having been all the way fromfour to fifteen at various times and in various places, (fourbeing the standard number for a long time). These lines (when there were quite a number in the staff) were often divided intogroups of fourbyredlines, which were not themselves used for notes. These red lines were gradually omitted and the staff divided into sections by a space, as in modern usage. The number of lines in each section was changed to five (in some cases six) for the sake of having a larger available range in each section.
The clefs at the beginning of the staffs are of course simply altered forms of the letters F, C, and G, which were written at first by Guido and others to make the old neume notation more definite.
The staccato sign seems not to have appeared until about the time of Bach, the legato sign being also invented at about the same time. The fermata was first used in imitative part-writing to show where each part was to stop, but with the development of harmonic writing the present practice was inaugurated. Leger lines came into use in the seventeenth century.
Sharps and flats were invented because composers found it necessary to use other tones than those that could be represented by the staff degrees in their natural condition. The history of their origin and development is somewhat complicated and cannot be given here, but it should be noted once more that it was the need of expressing more than could be expressed by the older symbols that called forth the newer and more comprehensive method. The use of sharps and flats in key signatures grew up early in the seventeenth century. In the earlier signatures it was customary to duplicate sharps or flats on staff degrees having the same pitch-name, thus:sharps and flats. (The use of the G clef as here shown did not of course exist at that time.)
The double-sharp and double-flat became necessary when "equal temperament" (making possible the use of the complete cycle of keys) was adopted. This was in the time of Bach (1685-1750).
Signs of expression (relating to tempo and dynamics) date back at least as far as the year 1000 A.D., but the modern terms used for this purpose did not appear until some years after the invention of opera, the date given by C.F.A. Williams in Grove's Dictionary being 1638. These words and signs of expression were at first used only in connection with instrumental music, but were gradually applied to vocal music also.
Other systems of notation have been invented from time to time in the course of the last two or three centuries, but in most cases they have died with their inventors, and in no case has any such system been accepted with anything even approaching unanimity. The tonic-sol-fa system[40]is used quiteextensively in England for vocal music, but has gained little ground anywhere else and the chances are that the present system of notation, with possibly slight additions and modifications, will remain the standard notation for some time to come in spite of the attacks that are periodically made upon it on the ground of cumbersomeness, difficulty in teaching children, etc. The main characteristics of staff notation may be summed up as follows:
1. Pitches represented by lines and spaces of a staff, the higher the line, the higher the pitch represented, signs called clefs at the beginning of each staff making clear the pitch names of the lines and spaces.2. Duration values shown byshapesof notes.3. Accents shown by position of notes on the staff with regard to bars,i.e., the strongest accent always falls just after the bar, and the beat relatively least accented is found just before the bar.4. Extent and description of beat-groups shown by measure-signs.5. Key shown by key signature placed at the beginning of each staff.6. Rate of speed, dynamic changes, etc., shown by certain Italian words (allegro,andante, etc.), whose meaning is as universally understood as staff notation itself.
1. Pitches represented by lines and spaces of a staff, the higher the line, the higher the pitch represented, signs called clefs at the beginning of each staff making clear the pitch names of the lines and spaces.
2. Duration values shown byshapesof notes.
3. Accents shown by position of notes on the staff with regard to bars,i.e., the strongest accent always falls just after the bar, and the beat relatively least accented is found just before the bar.
4. Extent and description of beat-groups shown by measure-signs.
5. Key shown by key signature placed at the beginning of each staff.
6. Rate of speed, dynamic changes, etc., shown by certain Italian words (allegro,andante, etc.), whose meaning is as universally understood as staff notation itself.
1. Broadly speaking, musical instruments may be divided into two classes, viz.: (1) those that have a keyboard and are therefore capable of sounding several tones simultaneously; (2) those that (as a rule) sound only one tone at a time, as the violin and trumpet. The piano is of course the most familiar example of the first class, and a brief description is therefore given.
Thepianowas invented about two hundred years ago by Cristofori (1651-1731), an Italian. It was an enormous improvement over the types of keyboard instrument that were in use at that time (clavichord, harpsichord, spinet, virginal) and has resulted in an entirely different style of composition. See note on embellishments,p. 26.
Thepianowas invented about two hundred years ago by Cristofori (1651-1731), an Italian. It was an enormous improvement over the types of keyboard instrument that were in use at that time (clavichord, harpsichord, spinet, virginal) and has resulted in an entirely different style of composition. See note on embellishments,p. 26.
2. The most characteristic things about thepianoas contrasted with its immediate predecessors are: (1) that on it the loudness and softness of the tone can be regulated by the force with which the keys are struck (hence the namepianofortemeaning literally thesoft-loud); (2) the fact that the piano is capable of sustaining tone to a much greater extent than its predecessors. In other words the tone continues sounding for some little time after the key is struck, while on the earlier instruments it stopped almost instantly after being sounded.
The essentials of the piano mechanism are:
1. Felt hammers controlled by keys, each hammer striking two or three strings (which are tuned in unison) and immediately rebounding from these strings, allowing them to vibrate as long as the keyis held down. The mechanism that allows the hammers to rebound from the strings and fall into position for another blow is called theescapement.2. A damper (made of softer felt) pressing against each string and preventing it from vibrating until it is wanted.3. A keyboard action that controls both hammers and dampers, causing the damper to leave the string at the same instant that the hammer strikes it.4. A pedal (damper pedal) controlling all of the dampers, so that at any moment all the strings may be released so as to be free to vibrate.
1. Felt hammers controlled by keys, each hammer striking two or three strings (which are tuned in unison) and immediately rebounding from these strings, allowing them to vibrate as long as the keyis held down. The mechanism that allows the hammers to rebound from the strings and fall into position for another blow is called theescapement.
2. A damper (made of softer felt) pressing against each string and preventing it from vibrating until it is wanted.
3. A keyboard action that controls both hammers and dampers, causing the damper to leave the string at the same instant that the hammer strikes it.
4. A pedal (damper pedal) controlling all of the dampers, so that at any moment all the strings may be released so as to be free to vibrate.
Other interesting details are:
1. The strings are stretched over a thin sheet of wood called the sound-board. This aids greatly in intensifying the tone.2. The soft pedal (the one at the left) in anupright pianocauses the hammers to move up nearer the strings, and the shorter swing thus afforded causes a less violent blow and consequently a softer tone. In thegrand pianothis same pedal shifts the mechanism to one side so that the hammers strike only one or two of the strings, this resulting in a softer tone of somewhat modified quality.
1. The strings are stretched over a thin sheet of wood called the sound-board. This aids greatly in intensifying the tone.
2. The soft pedal (the one at the left) in anupright pianocauses the hammers to move up nearer the strings, and the shorter swing thus afforded causes a less violent blow and consequently a softer tone. In thegrand pianothis same pedal shifts the mechanism to one side so that the hammers strike only one or two of the strings, this resulting in a softer tone of somewhat modified quality.
These details regarding the mechanism of the piano can easily be verified by removing the front of any ordinary upright piano and observing what takes place when the keys are struck or the pedals depressed.
3. There are two familiar types oforganin use at the present time, (1) the reed organ, (2) the pipe-organ.
Thereed organis very simple in construction, the tone being produced by the vibration of metal reeds (fixed in little cells), through which air is forced (or sucked) from the bellows, the latter being usually worked by the feet of the player.More power may be secured either by drawing additional stops, thus throwing on more sets of reeds, or by opening the knee swells which either throw on more reeds (sometimes octave couplers) or else open aswell boxin which some of the reeds are enclosed, the tone being louder when the box is open than when closed. More tone may also be secured by pumping harder.
4. The essential characteristic of thepipe-organis a number of sets or registers of pipes calledstops, each set being capable (usually) of sounding the entire chromatic scale through a range of five or six octaves. Thus for example when the stopmelodiais drawn (by pulling out a stop-knob or tilting a tablet), one set of pipes only, sounds when the keyboard is played on: but if the stopfluteis drawn withmelodia, two pipes speak every time a key is depressed. Thus if an organ has fortyspeaking stops, all running through the entire keyboard, then each time one key is depressed forty pipes will speak, and if a chord of five tones is played, two hundred pipes will speak. The object of having so many pipes is not merely to make possible a very powerful tone, but, rather, to give greater variety of tone-color.
The pipe-organ usually has a pedal keyboard on which the feet of the performer play a bass part, this part often sounding an octave (or more) lower than the notes indicate.
Aneight-foot stopon the organ produces tones of the same pitches as the piano when corresponding keys are struck: Afour-foot stopsounds tones an octave higher and atwo-foot stoptones two octaves higher. Asixteen-foot stopsounds tones an octave lower than the piano, and athirty-two footstop, tones two octaves lower, while some organs have also asixty-four footstop which sounds three octaves lower. This gives the organ an exceedingly wide range, its compass being greater than that of any other single instrument, and comparable in both range of pitches and variety of color only with the modern orchestra.
Modern pipe-organs always have a number ofcombination pedalsorpistons(usually both), by means of which the organist is enabled to throw on a number of stops with one movement. The selection and use of suitable stops, couplers, combinations, etc., is calledregistration.
5. The instruments mentioned at the beginning of this appendix as belonging to the second class are more familiar in connection with ensemble playing, being commonly associated with either band or orchestra.
6. Abandis a company of musicians all of whom play upon either wind or percussion instruments, the main body of tone being produced by the brass and wood-wind divisions.