362 Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



From this brief sketch of the songs of the Hudson Bay Eskimos, we see that 

 they have acquired the form of the pisik and even employ refrains and con- 

 nectives, but in some cases in a very different fashion from the Copper Eskimos, 

 while the rates of speed of all but one song equal or greatly exceed those of the 

 dance songs of the latter people. There is one other outstanding contrast 

 beside speed and that is the exceedingly poor melodic material. Not only are 

 the songs uninteresting but they are very limited in tonal content. In several 

 there seems to be a struggle for supremacy between two tones on adjacent,^ 

 degrees, either removed a whole or a half step. The song that with the exception 

 of two notes is all on one tone, was collected among the Copper Eskimos but was 

 transmitted from the inland Hudson Bay region, and if it was not originally 

 so monotonous, may easily have impressed a Copper Eskimos with that quality. 

 Nothing could be greater than the difference melodically and artistically, be- 

 tween these songs and those from the Mackenzie river, but the Mackenzie 

 perhaps have not developed a complicated form like that of No. 129. 



Three of the six songs analyzed are major in tonality, one is minor and 

 two are irregular. Of those which appear to start with major tonality one 

 begins on the third degree, another on the minor sixth, two on the tonic and one 

 on the seventh. The endings, so far as they may be gathered from other parts, 

 in unfinished songs, are on the third, tonic, second and either second or fifth, 

 but in all except the first and second songs are doubtful either because the songs are 

 unfinished or irregular in tonality. The general levels in relation to the nearest 

 major tonality for those songs that are irregular are the third, fifth, second and 

 tonic. The minor song begins on the fifth and ends and has its general level on 

 the upper tonic or octave. Four of the seven tunes commence on the first beat 

 of the measure, and three on the last half-beat. In all but one case the metres 

 are largely two-four, but one is nearly all in four-four metre. 



