﻿128 
  DR 
  TRAILL 
  ON 
  A 
  PERUVIAN 
  MUSICAL 
  INSTRUMENT 
  

  

  That 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  America, 
  the 
  instrument 
  before 
  you 
  fully 
  

   proves 
  ; 
  and 
  voyagers 
  have 
  discovered 
  a 
  musical 
  instrument 
  very 
  like 
  it 
  in 
  Am- 
  

   sterdam 
  Island, 
  or 
  Tongataboo, 
  in 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Ocean. 
  In 
  a 
  letter 
  which 
  I 
  received 
  

   from 
  the 
  illustrious 
  Humboldt 
  on 
  this 
  subject, 
  he 
  states, 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  found 
  a 
  rude 
  

   sort 
  of 
  Pan's 
  pipe 
  among 
  the 
  natives 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Orinoco. 
  — 
  " 
  II 
  est 
  bien 
  

   remarquable 
  de 
  vois 
  les 
  memes 
  formes 
  se 
  reproduire 
  dans 
  les 
  regions 
  les 
  plus 
  

   eloignees; 
  j'avais 
  deja 
  ete 
  frappe 
  de 
  l'adresse 
  avec 
  laquelle 
  les 
  indigenes 
  de 
  l'Ori- 
  

   noque 
  savoient 
  construire 
  sesjlutes 
  de 
  Pan, 
  chaque 
  fois 
  que 
  mes 
  canots 
  s'arrete- 
  

   ment 
  la, 
  ou 
  le 
  rivage 
  etoit 
  couvert 
  de 
  roseaux." 
  

  

  Scale 
  of 
  the 
  Instrument. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  attempts 
  at 
  obtaining 
  an 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  scale 
  of 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  instru- 
  

   ment 
  were 
  imperfect, 
  owing 
  to 
  my 
  little 
  skill 
  in 
  either 
  the 
  theory 
  or 
  practice 
  of 
  

   music. 
  By 
  means 
  of 
  Beoadwood's 
  C 
  tuning-fork 
  for 
  concert 
  pitch, 
  compared 
  to 
  

   a 
  piano, 
  I 
  discovered 
  that 
  the 
  lowest 
  note 
  in 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  syrinx 
  was 
  equivalent 
  

   to 
  E 
  on 
  the 
  first 
  line, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  next 
  three 
  notes 
  with 
  that 
  formed 
  a 
  tetrachord 
  

   nearly 
  corresponding 
  to 
  E, 
  F, 
  G, 
  A 
  ; 
  that 
  the 
  fifth 
  ascending 
  note 
  was 
  three 
  notes 
  

   higher 
  than 
  A, 
  or 
  equalled 
  D 
  ; 
  that 
  the 
  sixth 
  note 
  was 
  a 
  note 
  lower 
  than 
  the 
  pre- 
  

   ceding 
  ; 
  that 
  the 
  seventh 
  was 
  two 
  notes 
  higher 
  than 
  D 
  ; 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  eighth 
  was 
  

   four 
  notes 
  higher 
  than 
  D. 
  

  

  These 
  notes, 
  however, 
  differing 
  from 
  the 
  piano 
  by 
  half 
  a 
  tone, 
  it 
  occurred 
  to 
  

   me, 
  that, 
  by 
  obtaining 
  the 
  assistance 
  of 
  an 
  accomplished 
  musician 
  on 
  the 
  violin- 
  

   cello, 
  the 
  true 
  scale 
  might 
  be 
  ascertained 
  far 
  better 
  than 
  by 
  my 
  unskilful 
  attempts. 
  

   I 
  employed 
  an 
  expert 
  Italian 
  performer 
  on 
  the 
  organetto 
  to 
  play 
  on 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  

   instrument, 
  on 
  different 
  evenings, 
  and 
  I 
  was 
  fortunate 
  enough 
  to 
  obtain 
  the 
  

   assistance 
  of 
  three 
  musical 
  friends, 
  who 
  unite 
  to 
  fine 
  taste 
  great 
  practical 
  skill 
  in 
  

   music 
  ; 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  these 
  gentlemen 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  for 
  the 
  following 
  deter- 
  

   mination 
  of 
  the 
  true 
  scale 
  and 
  powers 
  of 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  syrinx. 
  

  

  The 
  violincello 
  was 
  tuned 
  to 
  the 
  pitch 
  of 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  instrument, 
  and 
  the 
  

   value 
  of 
  each 
  of 
  its 
  notes 
  was 
  repeatedly 
  tried 
  by 
  this 
  test. 
  The 
  result 
  of 
  these 
  

   experiments 
  convinced 
  my 
  musical 
  friends, 
  that 
  the 
  maker 
  of 
  that 
  instrument 
  

   had 
  proceeded 
  on 
  just 
  musical 
  principles 
  in 
  its 
  formation 
  ; 
  and 
  that 
  its 
  eight 
  notes 
  

   were 
  resolvable 
  into 
  two 
  distinct 
  tetrachords, 
  one 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  in 
  a 
  minor, 
  and 
  the 
  

   other 
  in 
  a 
  major 
  key. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  ventilages 
  are 
  all 
  shut, 
  the 
  following 
  is 
  the 
  

  

  Scale. 
  

   • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  

  

  =#E 
  

  

  -#- 
  

  

  

  