DE.NSMORE] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 57 



As a preliminary to the recorded test the person was asked to 

 listen to various intervals, interspersed with unisons, two forks 

 being sounded in rapid succession and the person stating whether 

 they sounded alike or different. Many could recognize the unison 

 whenever it occurred (the same fork being sounded twice), while 

 others could hear no difference between tones which were three 

 or even five vibrations apart. After the subject had thus become 

 somewhat accustomed to the sound of the forks, the regular test 

 was given and repeated 20 times, each reply being noted, together 

 with the interval used in the test. As in the preliminary tests, two 

 forks were sounded in rapid succession, and in this the subject 

 was asked which tone was the higher, the first or the second. The 

 fundamental fork was not always used in this test, the forks being 

 sounded in irregular order, making the test the more difficult. The 

 intervals used in the test and the correctness of the replies formed 

 a basis for judging the pitch discrimination of the individual. Thus 

 a man who failed on a majority of tests comprising intervals of 

 fewer than three vibrations and answered correctly on a majority 

 of tests comprising intervals of three or more vibrations may be 

 considered as having three vibrations as the limit of his pitch dis- 

 crimination. The direct result of these tests can be shown quantita- 

 tively, but in addition to this result there are observations of equal 

 importance which depend to a large extent on personal knowledge 

 of the individuals being tested. For instance, men whom the writer 

 knows from an acquaintance of several years to be men of great 

 firmness and independence of character showed special power of 

 concentration and recognized small intervals (1, 2, or 3 vibrations) 

 in the early part of the test, while men of less strong individuality 

 did not make their best record until the test was almost completed. 

 A particularly clear example of this occurred among the Chippewa. 



A man and two of his sons were tested, all being prominent singers 

 on the White Earth lieservation. The father and one of the sons 

 (known respectively as Big Bear and George Big Bear) recorded 

 songs for the writer during her musical study among the Chippewa. 

 The older man retains much of the native character, while his sons are 

 somewhat divided m their sympathies, having much in common with 

 the older Indians but havmg progressed so far in the white man's way 

 that when these tests were made they were employed as carpenters 

 by the Government. A record of the tests of these tliree men mdi- 

 cates the pitch discrimination of the older man as about three vibra- 

 tions, and that of his two sons as about five vibrations. 



The pitch discrimination of the older Chippewa and Sioux Indians 

 was, generally speaking, about 3 vibrations. As the interval between 

 a' and b' is 54 vibrations, the interval of 5 vibrations is approxi- 



