THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE INCAS. 31 



the source from whicli they came being uncertain. Negroes 

 were introduced early into all the Spanish colonies, and doubt- 

 less many of their tunes were adopted by the Indians. Gar- 

 cilasso tells us that when he left Peru in 1560 there were then 

 five Indians residing in Cuzco who were great masters on the 

 flute, and could play readily, by book, any tune that was laid 

 licfore them.' In view of these conditions, we may well be scepti- 

 cal concerning the claims of any music said to be pre-Spanish. 



We now come to that much vexed question. What musical 

 scale was known to the ancient Peruvians? In the absence of 

 any authentic music we must look to their instruments as the 

 only source of information. It has been believed commonly 

 that they employed the five-toned or pentatonic scale, so widely 

 used in the primiti\'e music of various peoples, which one of our 

 most eminent musical scholars and critics insists "represents a 

 stage in musical development and is neither a racial nor geo- 

 graphical indication." - In this scale the step of a semitone is 

 avoided by omitting the fourth and seventh degrees in major 

 and the second and sixth in minor. 



Many of the scales given in this paper seem to indicate the 

 use of this five -toned scale, but there are some puzzling excep- 

 tions. Hitherto but few scales of Peruvian instruments have 

 been published. When a sufficient number has been collected, 

 it may be possible to determine the intervals of the Peruvian 

 scale. 



' Royal Commcnt.-irics of Peru, E<]. Rycaut, Part I. Book II, Chap. XIV. 

 ' H. R. Krehbic-l in Xci^i )'ork Tribune, Sept. 8. lyoi. 



