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  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  be 
  fully 
  appreciated 
  only 
  by 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  sympathetically 
  watched 
  

   the 
  faces 
  of 
  Indian 
  singers 
  when 
  they 
  were 
  singing 
  with 
  all 
  the 
  power 
  

   of 
  their 
  lungs 
  to 
  the 
  accompaniment 
  of 
  the 
  drum. 
  Nevertheless, 
  

   beneath 
  the 
  noise 
  moved 
  the 
  melody 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  singer 
  was 
  alone 
  

   conscious. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  Omaha 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  standard 
  of 
  musical 
  tones. 
  The 
  

   tuning 
  of 
  the 
  drum 
  has 
  been 
  spoken 
  of 
  and 
  anyone 
  who 
  has 
  observed 
  

   the 
  process 
  can 
  not 
  deny 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  standard 
  of 
  tone 
  sought 
  

   after. 
  Among 
  singers 
  there 
  were 
  men 
  and 
  women 
  who 
  were 
  recog- 
  

   nized 
  as 
  "good 
  singers." 
  Their 
  services 
  were 
  sought 
  and 
  paid 
  for. 
  

   They 
  formed 
  the 
  choir 
  or 
  leaders 
  on 
  occasions 
  when 
  song 
  had 
  an 
  

   important 
  part, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  Wa'wa", 
  the 
  Hethu'shka, 
  and 
  elsewhere. 
  

  

  Few 
  Indian 
  songs 
  were 
  ever 
  sung 
  solo. 
  Almost 
  all 
  were 
  sung 
  by 
  a 
  

   group, 
  many 
  by 
  a 
  hundred 
  or 
  more 
  men 
  and 
  women'. 
  The 
  volume 
  

   not 
  only 
  strengthened 
  the 
  tone 
  but 
  steadied 
  the 
  intervals. 
  A 
  single 
  

   singer 
  frequently 
  wavered 
  from 
  pitch, 
  but 
  when 
  assisted 
  by 
  a 
  friend 
  

   or 
  friends 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  tone 
  at 
  once 
  changed 
  and 
  the 
  pitch 
  

   was 
  steadied 
  by 
  the 
  union 
  of 
  voices. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  constant 
  ex- 
  

   perience 
  of 
  the 
  writers 
  that 
  the 
  Omaha 
  objected 
  to 
  the 
  presentation 
  

   of 
  their 
  songs 
  on 
  a 
  piano 
  or 
  reed 
  organ 
  as 
  unsupported 
  arias. 
  As 
  

   almost 
  all 
  their 
  songs 
  were 
  sung 
  by 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  singers, 
  the 
  melody 
  

   moving 
  by 
  octaves, 
  the 
  overtones 
  were 
  often 
  strongly 
  brought 
  out, 
  

   and 
  tins 
  may 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  Indian's 
  preference 
  for 
  a 
  simple 
  har- 
  

   mony 
  of 
  implied 
  chords, 
  when 
  their 
  songs 
  were 
  interpreted 
  on 
  these 
  

   instruments. 
  ' 
  ' 
  That 
  sounds 
  natural 
  ! 
  ' 
  ' 
  was 
  their 
  comment 
  on 
  hearing 
  

   their 
  songs 
  so 
  played, 
  even 
  when 
  it 
  was 
  explained 
  to 
  them 
  that 
  they 
  

   did 
  not 
  sing 
  their 
  songs 
  in 
  concerted 
  parts; 
  yet 
  they 
  still 
  persisted, 
  

   "It 
  sounds 
  natural." 
  

  

  The 
  harmonic 
  effects 
  are 
  more 
  noticeable 
  when 
  women 
  join 
  in 
  the 
  

   singing. 
  Women 
  form 
  part 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  choirs, 
  even 
  of 
  the 
  warrior 
  

   societies, 
  and 
  they 
  join 
  in 
  the 
  choral 
  songs 
  during 
  religious 
  ceremonies. 
  

   The 
  women 
  sing 
  in 
  a 
  high 
  falsetto, 
  consequently 
  one 
  often 
  heard 
  the 
  

   melody 
  sung 
  in 
  two 
  octaves. 
  When 
  the 
  song 
  dropped 
  too 
  low 
  for 
  a 
  

   natural 
  tenor 
  the 
  singer 
  took 
  the 
  octave 
  above. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  way, 
  by 
  

   octaves, 
  the 
  bass 
  and 
  contralto 
  voices 
  adjusted 
  themselves 
  in 
  the 
  unison 
  

   singing. 
  

  

  Tho 
  octave 
  is 
  seemingly 
  the 
  one 
  fixed 
  interval. 
  The 
  songs 
  are 
  not 
  

   built 
  on 
  any 
  defined 
  scale. 
  What 
  has 
  often 
  been 
  taken 
  for 
  a 
  minutely 
  

   divided 
  scale 
  is 
  probably 
  due 
  to 
  certain 
  qualities 
  in 
  the 
  native 
  tone 
  

   of 
  voice, 
  which 
  is 
  reedy 
  and 
  lends 
  itself 
  to 
  vacillation 
  of 
  tone. 
  The 
  

   same 
  song 
  sung 
  by 
  a 
  group, 
  piano, 
  and 
  then 
  sung 
  forte 
  is 
  often 
  hardly 
  

   recognizable 
  to 
  the 
  untrained 
  listener. 
  The 
  noise 
  of 
  strenuous 
  sing- 
  

   ing 
  drowns 
  the 
  music 
  to 
  an 
  alien 
  audience 
  accustomed 
  to 
  hear 
  music 
  

   objectively 
  presented. 
  

  

  