INDIAN MUSIC — DENSMORE 531 



a tone, in the pitch of a song as played on different days, but the 

 transcription corresponds to the final checking of the record. The 

 dictaphone is not intended to reproduce musical sounds and the 

 quality of tone is less satisfactory than that of a phonograph. 



An advantage of the dictaphone is that the change from recorder 

 to reproducer is made with a single motion, whereas in a phono- 

 graph it is necessary to detach the horn, loosen a screw, take out 

 the recorder, insert the reproducer, tighten the screw and connect 

 the horn. Frequently an Indian wants to hear the record he has 

 made, or it is desirable to hear the recording for some other reason, 

 and these motions take an appreciable time. A disadvantage of the 

 dictaphone is that the horn is small, as it is intended for a man at 

 an office desk. If the Indian becomes interested in his singing and 

 moves the horn away from his mouth the record becomes faint. It 

 is sometimes necessary to hold the horn in position while the Indian 

 sings. His position is easier to maintain when he sits in front of a 

 phonograph horn that is swung from a crane. Another advantage 

 of a phonograph horn is that it will, if desired, record the sound of 

 as many as four singers, carefully grouped. It will also record the 

 sound of a percussion instrument as accompaniment. 



Songs are recorded best when the phonograph is not tightly wound. 

 It is customary to rewind the phonograph with a few turns of the 

 crank between recordings to maintain this tension of the springs. 

 This precaution is scarcely necessary, as a test of the Columbia 

 graphophone showed that the speed remained the same for about 15 

 minutes, after which it dropped rapidly. An uneven action of the 

 motor distorts the speed and pitch of the record. Thus Dr. Fewkes 

 described in conversation some of the difficulties he encountered 

 with his first phonograph, which was operated by a foot treadle. 

 If he became interested in the singing he moved the treadle faster, 

 increasing the speed and raising the pitch. Sometimes he moved the 

 treadle slower, with the opposite effect. 



The records on the phonograph and dictaphone are made by the 

 "vertical path," often called the "hill and clale" method, in which 

 the depth of the groove varies with the loudness of the tone. The 

 late Emile Berliner expressed the opinion that this method of re- 

 cording was best adapted to my work. He became interested in my 

 work in 1913 and a pleasant acquaintance continued almost to the 

 time of his death. The process of recording on disks was advanced 

 by Mr. Berliner in 1887. Kecords on disks are made by the "horizontal 

 path," the groove made by the recording needle being of uniform 

 depth throughout its length and varying from side to side. This is 

 the only method used commercially on disks at the present time, but 

 recording on disks by the vertical path has been developed in the 



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