A MUSICAL KEY. 



.Economy of space demands the present compact ap- 

 pearance of the musical staff ; each line as well as each 

 space is used to represent some one of the keys of the 

 piano keyboard. The diagram of staff on page xxii. 

 shows exactly the relationship of the treble staff and 

 keyboard. I have drawn only the four octaves belong- 

 ing to the upper half of the keyboard, beginning with 

 middle C (close to the keyhole of the piano) and ending 

 with the fourth C above it, because within that compass 

 lie all the notes with which we have to do relative to 

 bird-music. Of these four octaves the lowest one (be- 

 ginning with middle C) is entirely below one's whistle, in 

 fact it is extremely difficult to whistle the second D 

 above middle C so one can be heard any distance away 1 

 As a matter of fact birds' voices are pitched so high, 

 that most of them are somewhere within the compass of 

 the last, highest octave on the piano, and many of them 

 continue to the other side of the wood- work ! This is the 

 case with all of the Warblers. Even the Peabody Bird 

 sings Old on the highest F, and for Sam and Peabody 

 (see the song diagram) jumps an interval of a fifth to the 

 topmost C of the piano. Whistle that if you can, and 

 you will have the correct pitch of this bird's song. 

 Nearly all birds have the ability to jump an interval and 

 hit a tone with a tolerable degree of accuracy. 



The diagram shows the extent of the various intervals. 

 The so-called interval of a minor third, common in the 

 Field Sparrow's song, is that which includes only one 

 ebony key between the three ivory ones. For instance, 

 D, E, F, and E, F, G, and A, B, C, and B, C, D, include but 

 a single "ebony," in their combinations ; all other thirds 

 include two, and are called major in contradistinction to 

 minor thirds. The song diagram will show the Cuckoo 

 sings a major and the Field Sparrow a minor third. 



The so-called slur, or dash connecting two or more 

 notes, is of utmost importance in expressing their char- 



does or can sing with a mathematically accurate pitch. We simply 

 come a great deal nearer to the note A than the bird does. It is 

 wholly a matter of degree. So it is well to remember at the outset 

 that there are some very dubious tones which come from Nature's 

 orchestra. 



xxix 



