H. W. Poole on Perfect Musical Intonation. 201 
on the flute have different qualities; the high E, for instance, has 
a different quality from the Eb; but this is admitted to be an im- 
perfection in that instrument, which art has endeavored to ob- 
viate. The character of music depends on other things than 
the key in which it is written in. Many “soft and tender” com- 
positions have been written in Ab, and many of an opposite char- 
er. 
One key is more appropriate for a composition than another, 
-for the reason that there will be employed in that key, a range of 
sounds which are best adapted to the quality and compass of the 
Voices, or instruments, for which the music was composed. ‘Thus 
if a melody of this compass, (an oetave and a fifth,) were written 
n 
vi 
Voice, it would not proba- | e A 
bly be placed in the key ma ee 
of C, as in that key the x.y oc eae ws cae hee 
highest notes would be too EN A VO TO ° 
high, and the lowest notes rarr€s 
too low for convenient ex- iio Meal aveso ga 
— Such a melod | ab wail eM “ 
Would more appropriately Key or F/{()—’—___ ] — 
placed ina beac the | seer 
Vicinity of F. Assuming 
F to be the best key for it, we believe that the nearer the key is 
brought to F', the better will be its effect; that is, the key of D 
will be better than C, Eb than D, and E better than Eb. Mel- 
odies of small compass may be adapted to several keys. In 
different collections of musie before us, the Hundredth Psalm— 
whose melody is contained in the compass of an octave—is writ- 
ten in four different keys, viz., F, G, Ab and A. 
- 31. It is necessary to examine more particularly than we have 
yet done in this paper, the subject of TEMPERAMENT, if we would 
fully understand how far the scale of the common organ, with 
twelve notes in the octave, when arranged in the best possible 
_ Manner, falls short of fulfilling the requirements of music. As we 
shall have frequent occasion to refer to a table we gave in the Janu- 
ary No. of the Journal, (25.) we reinsert that table, (see next page,) 
for the convenience of those who may not have that No. at hand, 
It was shown in (11.) that four prime intervals are employed in 
music, viz., the octave, fifth, major third and perfect seventh. It 
Szconn Serres, Vol. IX, No. 26.—March, 1850. 26 
