536 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



When all these matters have been settled, the singer is shown how 

 to sit in front of the horn, and to sing into it from the proper distance. 

 If a dictaphone is used he must be shown how to hold the horn, press- 

 ing the upper edge against his upper lip. He is also told that he must 

 sing in a steady tone and not introduce the yells and other sounds 

 that are customary to Indian singers. The recording is not intended 

 to be realistic, but to preserve the actual melody. 



Indians rarely sing alone and generally have a percussion accom- 

 paniment. A medicine man may sing alone when treating a sick 

 person, and under certain circumstances a man may sing his personal 

 song at a gathering, but as a rule Indian singing may be called en- 

 semble music. For this reason it is hard for one man to sing alone 

 and to record his song without the support of a drum or rattle. The 

 sound of an Indian drum does not record well, and I substitute a 

 pasteboard box, struck with a small stick, which gives percussion with- 

 out resonance. The singer soon learns to use it, holding it near the 

 horn if the sound is to be recorded and farther away if it is only for 

 his own assistance in singing. I may record two or more renditions 

 with the percussion audible in order to preserve the relative rhythms, 

 and then have one or two renditions with the accompaniment in- 

 audible so the melody can be transcribed more easily. In some songs 

 the meter of the drum is different from that of the voice, or the rh3i:hm 

 of the drum may be peculiar, and in such instances I am careful to 

 obtain recordings in which the drumbeat is clear throughout the 

 song. When the record is transcribed, the sound of the voice is ex- 

 cluded when determining the beat of the drum, and the sound of the 

 drum is excluded when recording the voice; then I listen to the two 

 together and check the result. In ordinary songs, such as the songs 

 of games and social dances, the drum is continuous and steady and I 

 may not make any record of it. Instead a notation is made in my 

 notebook such as "drum in quarters exactly with the voice." 



The sound of an Indian rattle can sometimes be recorded in order 

 to obtain a record of the rhythm, but pounding on the pasteboard box 

 is generally substituted for a rattle when songs are recorded. The 

 Indian usually wants to try making a record with the accompaniment 

 of the rattle but is soon satisfied that it is not practical with my equip- 

 ment. Occasionally, he wishes to shake the rattle at his side, with- 

 out trying to record it. Circumstances vary and there is no inflexible 

 rule of procedure. 



When a song is recorded, the cylinder box is marked with the 

 singer's name and the number in his sequence, such as Red Weasel 

 10 or Brave Buffalo 20. At the beginning of my work I assigned a 

 catalog number to each song when it was recorded and sent all the 

 records to the Bureau of American Etlinology, but this was changed 



