. _ *_ „..» jijg Itructure of 



414 On tbf Properties of Wrnd Ih/lrafHenif. 



The chromatic femltoncs are generally.introduced into the natural fcale of each of thefe 

 inftruments by the affiftance of feveral fingers. If they could be all conduced by one. 

 fingeri or if all the notes of the fcale could be raifed half a torte by opening only one aper- 

 ture, a fucceffion of femitonic intervals could be attended with little difficulty. It would, 

 be eafy to introduce any number of fharp founds from another key, and as eafy to play in 

 the modes of C (harp, D (harp, F (harp, attd G-fliarp with a greater third, ^s of C, D, F, 

 and G ; of G (harp, D (harp, and A (harp, with a niinor third, as in the eafy keys G, D, 

 an4 A ; becaufe the fcalq in each key., with all its founds made fliarp,- would be fingered 

 in the manner as previous to its franfpofition. ^ '. 



' "The pitch of an iiiftrument, indeed, may be raifed oj contrafting its length, but this 

 tr^ethod caii he of little ufe, except for making it accompany other inflruments. It cannot 

 be ufed in modulation to leltbn the diJEculties of fingering, as the melody mud be fiif'^ 

 pended before it can be adopted. 



, Among fome experiments winch 1 have made with 2, view to improve 

 pertain wihd inftruments, I have endeavoured to realife a proje£l for a very eafy. method of 

 intrpducing the cjifbipat^c femitones into the, natural fcale, ^nd pf .(harping any number of 

 the diatonic notes at. pl^afure: in th'e couyfe of the preferit letter I (hall communicate the 



method of doine this, and defcribe the principal inllruments wbjch have been cpaftru£tc4 



' /• ..^ ..•, . ■ ;" ': ti' ^', - ^- ''-'''^•■'•'■'■'1 ti' < I '"J'(- • 'iti.iv-j; luJI 



in the courfe of thefe expeirimental rcfdarches., >, ■ . . ',■■■, 



In. defcribing the Inftrumerjts I fhall follow the order in which I. hf vc arratiged the 



^^!)'^r t; o;iii ejf.i'iiGjl li.iv.' . -jIlI /l.lis.i ;i -jjii-.'o.J '. (f; tic'.'.'i .:>i:f>)i^ ; n 

 Early m the year fyppi I had a large flute conftruaedof pewter, in the (Jiape reprefentc4 



by Fig. I, Plate 'XI. which is ftill in my poiTelTion. Its infide is a winding cavity or fer- 



pctitme tube, fflto which-are made (erenliolcs'-at very conrcmcnf diltanccs for the fingers 



commonly ufed in performing the fcale of C major on the German flute. When all thefe 



apertures are clofed, the loweft found is in unifon with the note reprefented by the line 



wbjph isi;n^rkedJF';,hy, the.bal'?. 4i.,j^ 9.r,^t is flnS'fif?^^ lower ^han ,^Jjc lij\Yeft found, pf* 



German ^iite,'.whjcl^ ha*" three-,keys for .the lh(;le finger qf^^e fight hand. 



Fig. 2 reprefcnts an horizontal feclion of the tube or cavity, at any height between its 

 higher and lower fides, on a fcale '■Of^biie-^fth of the real fize. The infide of the tube is 

 three quarters of an inch broad, and one inch deep. 



That part of the inftrument which contains the aperture for producing the found, is laid 

 over three turns of the tube, and is reprefented in Fig. 3, which is a vertical fe£lion of fh^ 

 pkrt'bif 'the' mftTumeait,tlo'i[hfeW the depth of ffife ficJeS,' irid the conftT(!i(f)tion of thet'ttbe 

 neiar ihe fdund hole.' A fud'd^n- dilata'tioti'in 'this part is 'avoided; by the infcrJton of a fiieie 

 hi ftiStal»'which'p^6duces the j^radual lurii, i-'cprefehtcd by the dotted line : 'but liofte off the 

 ^Yncrsiti arty othetpart'ire'therc cut off. ' ( < 



