S6 THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



cannot be changed, not by tempo, slow or fast; not 

 by dynamics, loud or soft; not by interpretation, 

 legato or staccato ; they are what they are, not by man's 

 will, but by the universal will and immutable laws 

 inherent in tone-rhythmic relation. The prevalent 

 chord-conception of harmony is responsible for the 

 distinction between harmonic tones and melodic tones ; 

 the component tones of a "presiding chord" being 

 called harmonic while the tones that lie over and under 

 and play upon the chord-tones are called melodic. 

 This distinction has lost its usefulness since it has been 

 demonstrated that each individual tone, whether it 

 belongs to the "presiding chord" or not, is harmonic. 

 Were this not true there would be and could be neither 

 tone-cadence nor tone-repose, neither dissonance nor 

 consonance, no relation in the musical sense, in short, 

 no music. The truth that every tone is harmonic is 

 here based on the testimony of the inner ear which is 

 the testimony of common feeling and perception. This 

 truth is reported in all music, primitive and artistic, 

 before Bach, of Bach, after Bach. 



32. On Symbols 



The symbols thus far employed are notes, syllables 

 and harmonic numbers. To these we will add scale- 

 numbers, for which purpose the seven original tones 

 are now presented in the familiar form of the Major 

 scale. 



15 3^ 59or33 1 



