76 THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



its root. The above tones may be read as follows: 

 Tonic-root, third, fifth; Dominant-root, third, fifth, 

 seventh and ninth. 



Every tone is a distinct harmonic percept and con- 

 cept. A harmonic percept is our perception of the 

 common report of a tone as root or third or fifth or 

 seventh or ninth. A harmonic concept is our thought 

 or conception of a tone in any one of these relations. 

 Concepts are rooted in and spring from percepts just 

 as percepts are rooted in and spring from feeling. 

 Harmonic feeling is never wrong, but harmonic per- 

 cepts may be wrong and cause wrong concepts. True 

 knowledge is true perception of relations. False per- 

 ception and consequent false conception is the danger 

 to be averted. This danger is averted in the present 

 study by the common reports of common feeling and 

 perception. Since concepts are based on percepts, 

 since the former are true if the latter are true, we will 

 for the present fix our attention upon the latter. 



The seven original tones present eight distinct har- 

 monic relations, each of which is a harmonic percept, 

 as follows : do is root, mi is major third, sol is pure fifth, 

 of the Tonic (harmony understood); sol is root, ti is 

 major third, re is pure fifth, fa is minor seventh, la is 

 major ninth, of the Dominant. Of these tones sol, 

 the bond tone of the two harmonies, appears twice: 

 first as fifth, then as root. 



Some of these harmonic percepts are original, 

 others are duplicates. A harmonic percept is original 

 when it is the first of its kind: such are do, the first 

 root; mi, the first major third; sol, the first pure fifth; 

 fa, the first minor seventh; la, the first major ninth. 



