ROBERTS] ANALYSIS OF SONGS 425 



and III and is strongly major in tonality. The second is exhibited 

 in Groups II and IV and is strongly minor in tonality or a mixture 

 of major and minor in which the latter predominates. The third is 

 exemplified in Group V, and is neither major nor minor because of 

 the position of the tonic as the upper tone and the presence of what 

 stands in relation to it as a minor seventh. This variety of scales 

 prevents drawing any conclusion as to the prevailing scale for 

 Picuris myth songs, if such might be foimd to exist by examining a 

 large number of distinct songs. The most that can be said is that 

 both major and minor tonalities are known to the Picuris; that 

 the myth songs examined divide according to them in about equal 

 proportion; and that the intennediate pitches not infrecjuently occur- 

 ring between the diatonic steps of which both major and minor 

 scales are formed, are not, as far as the evidence points at present, 

 structurally important in the scale, but more or less ephemeral tones 

 in the songs. The presence of these ephemeral tones in most melodic 

 situations is to be accounted for by the direction m wliich the voice 

 is moving in upward or downward curves, controlled, it may be, by 

 certain psychological conditions in the two opposite tendencies of 

 smoothing and acuation, which for the most part do not manifest 

 themselves together in the course of a single song. 



I have said nothing about the large curve which each melody 

 describes in its entirety, nor of the possibility of these large curves 

 proving a common basis by which to classify the songs as a group. 

 Unfortunately the limit of time imposed in preparing this analytical 

 discussion, so that it could accompany the fii-st part of the paper 

 which was already in press, prevents further investigation of the 

 songs along other lines of analysis. The position of the beginning 

 and ending tones of the song in relation to the general levels as 

 shown in the tables make clear the point that the curves which the 

 melodies describe are radically different. 

 19078°— 28 28 



