274 



THE POPULAR EBUOATOE. 



to confirm this assertion. "What a noisy and barbarous music ; 

 all rhythm and no sound ! ... It would afford us no very 

 favourable idea of the abilities of modern musicians if they 

 required so much parade and noise in keeping together. ' The 

 more time is beaten,' says M. Rousseau, 'the less it is kept.' " 

 Rousseau's opinion is, perhaps, too strongly expressed ; but we 

 think no person of good taste can doubt that it is, in the main, 

 well founded. The practice of making a whole class beat time 

 while they sing, is a return to barbarism. The proper mode of 

 teaching this part of practical music would be to make the 

 members of the class act as leaders in turn ; or, if the class be 

 large, one or two at once might be taken out, placed in front of 

 the others, and employed to beat the time first with the assist- 

 ance of the teacher, and afterwards by themselves. See Dr. 

 Bryce'a " Rational Introduction to Music." 



The peculiarities of the old notation on the staff of five line* 

 will be explained as we come to them, and at the proper period 

 of his course our pupil will be more systematically introduced 

 to them. Ho is already acquainted with most of the points 

 relating to our "interpreting notation." They are, howev T, 

 repeated below for the sake of distinctness. Observe that thu 

 notation of " slurs, repeats, and expression," applies alike to 

 both notations. 



NOTATION OF THE RKLATIVB LENGTH OF NOTES. As the 

 accents recur at equal intervals of time throughout a tune, 

 marking aliquot parts of the measure, the relative length of 

 notes can be clearly indicated by showing what proportion of 

 the measure each note occupies. This is done by first placing 

 the accent marks at equal distances along the page, thua 



I ' I ' 



Or thus : 



Or thus : 



d : -.f | m : d 



.f 



m : d. 



Or thus : 



| : I : etc. 

 And then observing the following rules : 



a. A note placed alone immediately after an accent mark is 

 supposed to occupy the time from that accent to the next. 



Thus : 



| d :d :d | d :d :d 1 d 

 Or thus : 



| d : r I m : d 



b. A stroke indicates the continuance of the previous note 

 through another aliquot (or pulse), thud : 



| d :d [ d : 

 Or thus : 

 .J d | d :d :d|d : : | d : : d | d : 



c. A dot divides an aliquot into equal parts, and shows ttat 

 the note before it filla half the time from one accent to the neri;, 

 leaving only half an aliquot to the note or notes which follow, 

 thus : 



| d : d.d | d : d | d : d.d I d : 

 Or: 



|. d : m.r | d : B, I d : m.r | d : | 1, . d 

 I 8 t : m j m.r : d.t, | d : 



d. The dot after a mark of contiauance shows that the pre- 

 vious note is to be continued through half that aliquot, thus : 



( d.r : m.f | m : d | d :-.f | m : d 



e. A comma signifies that the note before it fills a quarter of 

 tho time from one accent to the next. The last note in an 

 aliquot does not require a mark after it, as the proportion left 

 to it is sufficiently evident. Thus : 



| d : d .d,d I d : d 

 Or, 



1 d : tj .d,r | d : d 



/. The dot and comma together show that the note before 

 them fills three-quartera of the time from one accent to the next, 

 thus: 



j d.,r : m.,f | m.,v : d 



y. This mark , indicates that the note before it fills one-third 

 of the time from one accent to the next, thns : 

 : d | 9 : l,s.f | m : r | d 



fr. An aliquot or any part of an aliquot left unfilled indicates 

 A pause of the voice, thua : 



J d:IP:| m : I :t, | d:d I r :r jm: 

 bark I hark I hark! while infant voices sing. 



NOTATION OK -.TEATS, AND EXPRESSION. 



a. When two or more notes uro :-;ung to the same syllable. 

 they are said to be slurred. The .-lur i indicated by a strok*: 

 beneath the notes. 



b. In some taues it is re-quhvl ' Ttain parts of th'- 

 strain. The maniier iu which this is done is indicated by thu 

 following signs : 



D. c. abbreviated from the Italian Da Capo, means " Ke- 



turn to the beginning." 

 D. s. abbreviated from Dal fr"jn'>, means " Return, and sing 



from the sign." 

 8. is used for the sign, and* 



F. abbreviated from Pi/ic, shows where such repetitions cm/. 

 R. placed over a note shows that a repetition of mrJs com- 



mences there. 



c. Greater "expression 71 is sometimes given to music by 

 ivjrulating the degree of force with which certain parts of tho 



j strain are to be delivered. This is done by means of the follow- 



i ing signs placed over the notes : 



. 



/. abbreviated from forte, signifies loud, 

 p. from piano, signifies soft. 

 ff. very loud. 

 pp. very soft. 



d. Sometimes it is needful to indicate tho manner in which 

 that force is to bo thrown in. For this purpose the following 

 marks are used : 



denotes a sioell, the voice commencing softly, becoming 

 louder, and then closing softly. 



< denotes increasing force. 

 > denotes diminishing force. 



1 or over a note shows that it should be sung abruptly 

 and with accent. 



6. The same piece of music often requires to be sung with 

 different expression, according to the different words with which 

 it may be used. In that case the marks of expression should 

 be placed on the words. It is proposed that 



CAPITAL LETTERS, in printing, or double lines under the 

 word in writing, should distinguish words to be sunp 

 louder than others ; that 



Italic letters, in printing, or a single line under the word iu 

 writing, should indicate softness ; that 



The acuto accent ' should denote special abruptness air! 

 decision of voice ; that 



A stroke above the words, in printing, a succession of 

 little strokes over or a stroke through the word in 

 writing, should show a heavy movement; the accents 

 being <Jragged along, and the lighter ones little distin- 

 guished from the stronger ; and that 



The grave accent ' placed on tho words which fall to tho 

 strong accent of the music, should indicate a spirited 

 movement, with marked attention to accent. 



A slower or quicker movement may be expressed by the words 

 slowly or quickly. The "heavy movement" mentioned abovn 

 necessarily tends to slacken, as tho " spirited movement" does 

 to quicken the pace of the singer. 



An analysis of the markings used in the Tonic Sol-fa System 

 has elicited the following principles, which may be of use to tho 

 student : Passages should bo marked to be sung softly in which 



(1) any peculiarly solemn or awe-inspiring thought is expressed ; 



(2) a change from praise to reflection, or (3) from reflection to 

 prayer. Passages should be marked to 1>o - : ttir_r l<n'.Ji\i which 

 express (1) joyful praise, (2) strong desire, ('!) ardent gratitudi', 

 (4) high resolve, or (5) some inspiring thought. For y, much 

 fuller development of this subject of envvst'"/' (.verbal and 

 musical) see the " Standard Course " of Tonic i; Soi-fa Lo- 



and the " Tonic Sol-fa Reporter," Vol. VIII. 



THE STANDARD SCALE. A certain note " about midway 

 between the highest and the lowest that can bo perceived by 

 the ear" is fixed on by musicians as the standard of PITCH, and 

 the notes arranged upon it, according to tho order of the 

 "common mode" or scale already described, are called the 

 standard scale. This note is called c. The second note of the 



