24 THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



genius of music. Conversely, music ever has been, 

 is, and ever will be melody. Melody is the raison 

 d'etre of music's harmony. Why this rhythm ? Why 

 that harmony ? The answers to these questions lie in 

 melody. Love of music and love of melody are one. 

 No melody, no music-idea or thought. No melody, 

 no harmony. No melody, no music. The great 

 and greatest in music are its melodies; types in 

 music are types of melody and from first to last 

 music's great masters are melodists. 



The above conclusions are verified by common 

 report of common feeling and perception of original 

 harmony in one voice. In a book^ published in 

 1890, the writer introduced the subject of harmony 

 in one voice naming it meloharmony^ the inherent 

 harmony of melody. 



16. The Efficient Accent and Regnant Harmony 



In a preceding paragraph it was stated that the 

 principles and laws of music are rooted in the cardinal 

 shaping principle, equilibrium. The rhythmo-har- 

 monic forms and relations of music in one voice or 

 homophonic melody discover the nature and oper- 

 ation of two evolutionary principles which next 

 require provisional introduction and explanation. 

 First and most important of the two is the efficient 

 accent which is the efiicient cause of the genesis of 

 tones and tone-relations, that is, of music's specific 

 and basic harmonies. 



The eflScient accent is the heavy 'periodic accent oj 

 rhythm^ it is the harmony-generating and harmony- 



* Th£ Septonate and the Centralization of the Tonal System. 



