OCCASIONAL NOTES. 425 
VoOcAL MUSIC. 
1. Are the people fond of music? 
2. Is their ear acute for discerning small musical intervals? 
3. Can they easily hit atone whichis sung or played tothem? 
4, Is their voice flexible ? 
5. What is the quality of the voice? Is it loud or soit, 
clear or rough, steady or tremulous ? 
6. What is the usual compass of the voice ? 
7. Which is the prevailing male voice—tenor, barytone, 
or bass ? 
8. Which is the prevailing female voice—soprano or alto? 
9. Do the people generally sing without instrumental ac- 
companiment ? ' 
10. Have they songs performed in chorus by men only, or 
by women only, or by both sexes together ? 
11. Have they any professional singers? If so, describe 
their training and mode of life ? 
12. When the people sing together, do they sing in unison 
or in harmony, or with the occasional introduction 
of some drone accompaniment of the voice ? 
13. Is their singing in regular time, or does it partake of 
the character of the recitative? 
Note.—In answering these questions, the greatest care should be taken, 
by frequent investigation from various people, and on the same point; to give 
the opinion, not of one, but of several competent musicians. 
In taking down their songs in musical notation, no attempt should be made 
to correct any supposed fault on the part of the singer, nor should the music 
be altered or made conformable to European ideas. 
No song should be taken down unless it has been sung on three separate 
occasions, by three different people, and no extraneous harmony or accom- 
paniment, should be added to it. 
Should the people use intervals smaller than semitones, such as } or } tones, 
particular care should be taken to note them down, by writing in notation 
the semitone, next below the tone sung, and writing the fraction above it. 
The more faithfully the peculiarities of the music are preserved, the more 
valuable is the notation. Collections of popular tunes (with the words of the 
airs) are very desirable. 
All collectors are requested to write their name and address legibly at the 
foot of their manuscripts and in answering the questions, to quote the head- 
ing, and the number of the question. 
