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Musical Intonation and Temperament. 



easily influenced by sounds than pipes. A wonderful illustration of 

 this is furnished by an attempt of a performer, at the commemoration 

 of Handel at Westminster Abbey, to produce a discord on his violon- 

 cello during a grand chorus. He could not do it ! Wherever he 

 stopped it, it would produce perfect harmony with the other instru- 

 ments. As he slided his finger on the string it would jump from har- 

 monic to harmonic- This consideration tells in favor of Equal Tem- 

 perament, but is far from settling the question. The extremes must 

 be Professor Fisher's scheme on the one hand and Equal Tempera- 

 ment on the other. The tuner has ample liberty between them to 

 consult his own judgment and the taste of the musical world. 



The annexed table gives the comparative length of string to pro- 

 duce the 12 pitches of an octave tuned to Equal Temperament, am! by 

 Professor Fisher's scheme. By means of a monochord the pitches can 

 be taken from the table and transferred to an instrument. 



The ne\t ela^s of imperfect instruments is of the Trumpet class. 

 These, if fixed in length, will give one fundamental note and its bar 



monies. I' 1 * intonation is perfect in the key of which its fundamen- 

 tal fa tonic, but it is limited to the harmonic mites. Some are fur- 

 ni hed with contrivances for instantaneously varying their length and 

 ■0 producing Other fundamentals and other setts of harmonics — thus 

 muHplying the resources of the instrument, but leaving them wholly 



