UE.NSMUHE] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 59 



unmistakable evidence of musical criticism. Certain men are gen- 

 erally acknowledged to be "good singers" and certain songs are said 

 to be ''good songs." This implies that the songs and the singers 

 satisfy some standard of evaluation. Tlie Indian may not be able to 

 formulate this standard, but its existence is evidence of an esthetic 

 impulse. 



We may note at this . time a few observations on this subject 

 opening it for further investigation. First, in the matter of composi- 

 tion it is observed that the oldest songs, which are considered the best 

 songs, were "composed in dreams." This means that they came in a 

 supposedly supernatural manner to the mind of a man who was hoping 

 for such experiences and who had established the mental and physical 

 conditions under which they were believed to occur. In this we have 

 the native concept of what we caU "inspiration." The Indian isolated 

 himself by going away from the camp, while the white musician or poet 

 locks his door, but both reahze the necessity of freedom from dis- 

 traction. A majority of the songs said to have been thus received 

 by the Indians have a rhythmic and melodic unity which is not 

 always present in songs said to have been '"made up." Thus the 

 writer once heard a song which was said to have been recently com- 

 posed, and on inquiry learned that several men had "composed it 

 together." This was evidenced by a lack of unity in the melody, 

 which contained too many peculiarities. The form of the melody 

 suggested the possibihty that each man had incorporated in it a 

 favorite interval, or some other musical fancy of liis own. The 

 result was a composite rather than a unit. 



The comparative analyses in Bulletin 53 (pp. 51-58) suggest a 

 relation between mental concept and the form of its musical expres- 

 sion. The significant prominence of the ascending and descending 

 interval of a fourth in songs concerning motion was noted in Bul- 

 letin 53 (pp. 99-101) and is found also in songs of the present series. 

 A comparison of the structure of the old songs with that of songs 

 said to be somewhat modern shows that the more recent songs con- 

 tain a smaller compass, larger number of progressions and a more 

 regular rhythm. The latter tendency was shown by the following 

 incident : In recording a Chippewa song from an old Indian the writer 

 found the rhythm peculiar, 'with frequent changes of measure 

 lengths ; later the same song was recorded by a young man, said to 

 be an excellent singer. On comparing the phonographic records it 

 was found that the younger singer had slightly changed the rhythm 

 so as to avoid the irregularity in the measure lengths. The song had 

 lost its native character and also its musical interest. 



The various occasions of music which exist among civilized races 

 are found also among the Indians. It is a custom that songs con- 

 nected with ceremonial acts shall be sung only by those who have 



