CHORDS IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR ORIGIN 261 



perception. As to number and variety there is no 

 limit to compound chord-structures of this group, since 

 they include every imaginable combination of one or 

 two or three stable tones plus from one to four dis- 

 tinct unstable tones in forms in which each compound 

 tone appears but once and in other forms in which 

 components are doubled and even trebled. More- 

 over, these compound chords may be conceived on any 

 tone and in endless relations. In fine, these chords 

 are distinct structures because each may be a regnant 

 harmony in which relation the components of each 

 are regnant tones. The fact that as regnant har- 

 monies each of these compound chords may be elab- 

 orated with its bytones may prove suggestive to com- 

 posers in that it points to a wealth of new melodic, 

 harmonic and polyphonic possibilities as well as to 

 many as yet unthought and unpenned ornamental 

 figures and passages. The study and elaboration of 

 these compound chords as well as of others about to 

 be presented may serve as a stimulus to the com- 

 poser's thought and imagination. 



Attention is next directed to what on a previous 

 page was called a second group of compound chords. 

 The description of these chords is roughly as follows : 

 Each of these structures has a triad for its nucleus and 

 to this triad one tone is added either above or below. 

 The tone when added above is a supersixth of the 

 chord-root and the resultant combination is named a 

 swpersixth-ohord. The tone when added below is a 

 subsecond of the chord-root and the resultant chord 

 is named a suhsecond-ohord. To understand these or 

 any other chords they must be conceived in the con- 



