ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 



The old adage that " there 's more than one way of &J- 

 ing a cat " applies to the Rose-breasted Grosbeak's song 

 in musical notation, for, furthermore^ if we turn to 

 Mr. Cheney's Wood Notes Wild, we find the follow, 

 ing, which bears not the slightest resemblance to my 

 own records given above I 



Mr.Cheneys record 



But Mr. Cheney admits writing this music from memory 

 though with a f eeling of confidence in the accuracy of its 

 main features and spirit. 



I, also, can see the accuracy of the record, and by 

 whistling the tune in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak's way 

 conjure up a very tolerable idea of what Mr. Cheney 

 must have heard. If, therefore, I write this bit of music 

 as I whistle it, its appearance must be different from that 

 of Mr. Cheney's writing, thus: 



Con spirito. (The tone -slightly burred) 



" n 



The difference is attributable to the facts that the slurs, 

 in my estimation, are important and inseparable from a 

 proper rendering of this bird's music, the burring tones 

 are similarly important, and the pitch of the bird's tones 

 being indefinite my rendering requires a slight variation 

 of the notes. For that matter it must become very evi- 

 dent to one who studies this bird's music carefully, that 

 he is woefully lacking in pitch. There is no certainty 

 about his tones; in every instance it is a questionable C, 

 D, or E, and one has to supply the deficiency. Hence 

 the bird never sings his song out of tune, simply because 



133 



