276 



THE NATURE OF MUSIC 



the classics should discard the many inaccuracies of 

 the 17th- and 18th-century notation. At best our 

 notation has its limitations; still its symbols are 

 adequate for a more accurate presentation of the har- 

 monic idea. Editors have done much in this direc- 

 tion, but editions still contain many harmonic errors. 

 How are these errors discovered.? By the common 

 immutable self-reports of regnant harmony. Correct 

 harmonic notation is a question of conformity with 

 these common self -reports. I will stop here for but 

 one illustration and quote the subjoined measure from 

 the Adagio-theme of Beethoven's E flat piano-con- 

 certo, the error in which was corrected by von Biilow 

 in the Cotta-edition, but still occurs in other editions. 

 At N.B. in a) the melody distinctly and unmistakably 

 reports itself as the large third of Djjl, that is, as F X : 

 see correction at N.B. in b). Instead of F X Bee- 

 thoven wrote Gij, which is a diminished fourth, and Gjj 

 reappears in every repetition of the melody throughout 

 the Adagio: see in Peters' edition. It is impossible 

 to hear this specific tone in this specific relation as a 

 diminished fourth, nor could Beethoven so have heard 

 or conceived it. The common self-report as large 

 third is immutable and therefore the notation Gtf is 

 misleading and false while that of F X is logical and 



a) 



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b) 



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t=w. 





N.B. 



N.B. 



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