.^, I }. 'I < ' : THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



Which are elements and which are composites? 

 Which is the original and all-inclusive composite? 

 the raison d'etre of all the others, in short, the essence 

 of music? Theoretical predilections or subjective 

 bias cause some of us to give the supremacy to melody, 

 others to harmony. We still speak and write about 

 "the intimate connection between melody and har- 

 mony, " about " harmonized melody" and " melodized 

 harmony." All this plainly implies a common belief 

 that melody and harmony are separable. Are they, 

 have they ever been separable or separated ? If not, 

 one of the two is an element of the other. In fact, one 

 of the two includes, is the raison d'etre of the other. 

 Which is it ? Science has produced no final answers 

 to these questions. Let any one, musician or layman, 

 consult the testimony of his unprejudiced inner feel- 

 ing and experience of music and he will say with 

 Mozart, ** Melody is the essence of music." I quote 

 Mozart because he was completely free from theoreti- 

 cal bias. He felt and knew this to be true, he felt and 

 knew it instinctively just as we all do. In other 

 words, the truth of this common testimony of com- 

 mon feeling has not been scientifically proved. Nor 

 has it been disproved. Why not ? Primarily because 

 the nature of its source, that is, the nature of common 

 music-feeling, has not been fathomed. Yet the exist- 

 ence of this common feeling is everywhere recognized 

 in the books, this feeling is the source of every truth 

 that has entered the books, its testimony is every- 

 where appealed to and is our only resource in every 

 last analysis wherever and whenever rules fail to apply 

 or cannot be ascertained. The situation has a pe- 



