80 THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



tone to the other tones of the phrase. To retain the 

 feeling of the relation is equivalent to retaining the 

 feeling of the harmonic thread of their first tone, mi. 

 Having made sure of this feeling, sing mi and on the 

 line of least resistance, drop on the thread of har- 

 mony from one component to another until you reach 

 a tone which reports a stopping-point, a point of com- 

 plete repose, a harmonic centre of gravity; for this 

 tone is the unmistakable root or fundamental tone of 

 the thread. You will find the harmonic thread to be 

 as follows : — 



3 15 3 1 



^^ 



mi do sol mi ffo = Root and Tonic 



Having found the root, move back on the thread to 

 the tone you started on and go down and up on the 

 thread repeatedly as shown below : — 



Once you recognize the root then the rest of the 

 analysis is simple, namely, the number and names of 

 components, the interval-relations of the components 

 to the common root, the proving of the common root 

 not alone by discovering that it is the most stable of all 

 the components, but by further discovering that it is 

 the only tone in the thread to which the other tones 



