316 M U 
its moral and political fituation, which have operated 
either in fuppreffing or in encouraging thefe propenfxties. 
But we believe it would be difficult to point out any 
other propenfities of the generality of the Englilh nation 
than the love of virtue, country, and domeftic happinefs, 
every effufion of enthufiafm being already fupprelfed as 
well by religion and education as by habit. Thel'e pro¬ 
penfities of the mind, united to a mild climate and to a 
happy and glorious conftitution, will therefore make the 
fongs of the Englilh appear gay, although not very lively ; 
and therefore pleafing, without producing a deep and 
lafting impreffion. 
But, allowing the Englilh to have ftrong paffions, there 
exifts another reafon which explains the abfence- of na¬ 
tional mufic in them ; that is, they have no leijure to ex¬ 
hale their character in fongs. The national long has al¬ 
ways been the offspring either of foiitude, and of activity 
of mind and feelings, without the means of applying it 
to action, or of a voluptuous doing nothing —the dolce far 
nientc of the fouthern nations, the efteft of a hot climate, 
which, joined to an ardent imagination, invites us either 
to the enjoyment of repofe, or to the gratification of the 
fenfes. The difference between the ftanzas of a long and 
the verfes of many an epic or didaftic poem is therefore 
almoft the fame as that between a national melody and a 
great mufical compofition, in which harmony is often 
found fuperior to melody. A genuine national long is, 
as well in wmrds as in melody, the produce of imagina¬ 
tion. A poet, who in fuch a moment is confcious of the 
rules of poetry, a mufical compofer who remembers thofe 
of mufic, will never produce any thing that may pleafe 
the whole nation, whatever be the occupation in which 
individuals are engaged. The moft national fong that 
ever has been generally fung throughout a country is 
the German air, Freut eucli des lehens, “ Life let us che- 
rilh.” The compofer (his name is Nageli) is only known 
as the author of fome learned mufic, which perhaps will 
one day be forgotten ; but his fong will laft for ever, as 
well as our. famous air of “ God fave the king.” 
In the fouthern climates, the youth fits in the even¬ 
ing before his door ; the heat of the day is over, the air 
is tranquil, no idea of rain or ftorm, the fun is fetting 
with a glow, the Iky produces a finer blue than any¬ 
where elfe; he is perhaps awaiting the fair one who will 
blefs him with love, oris retracing paft happinefs. What 
reafons for infpiration of rapturous ideas ! Words and 
mufic come almoft together. Who can think of a rule, 
or count the fyllables on his fingers ? and yet the fong is 
enchanting. If the northern nations do not fee their 
-fun fo glowing, if their Iky has not the fame blue, and if 
the plants do not exhale the fame fragrance in their 
country, yet not lefs does the want of all this infpire the 
poet and the compofer, and produce fimilar effects, al¬ 
though the fiyle of the cofhpofitions will be found very 
different. It is therefore not always what nations enjoy, 
but very often a conlcioufnefs of the privation, which pro¬ 
duces their fongs; and it is this which accounts for the 
melancholy and gloomy caft of moft of them. The moft 
fertile infpirer of fongs is Solitude. Among all moun¬ 
tainous countries there will of courfe be found lpecimens 
of national mufic; and, from the times of old until ours, 
the ftiepherds have not only invented fongs, but their 
occupations have even fupplied the theme of many a 
mufical compofition. 
It is for thefe reafons that any free and at the fame 
time commercial nation, where every-body, during the 
day, is either involved in the buftle of his own or of the 
affairs of the community, and where, in the evening, the 
great interefts of the ftate abforb people’s minds, and are 
difcuffed, will not have many national fongs; and this is 
particularly the cafe with the Englilh, where, by the care 
of the welfare of the community, and the conftant endea¬ 
vours to keep up a free and glorious conftitution, man 
is almoft conftantly attracted, from his earlieft youth till 
the laft days of his exiftence in this world. 
S I c. 
Of MUSICAL NOTATION, on PRACTICAL 
MUSIC. 
The intervals of the mufical fcale are expreffed by the 
feven letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G ; but, to exprefs the 
fcale of nature, that is', a major icale, without the artificial 
intervention of flats and fnarps, we mull begin at C; and 
our fcale will be C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C repeated to 
complete the o&ave. 
The teachers of vocal mufic exprefs thefe tones by the 
following fyllables: 
CDE FGABC 
Ut re mi fa fol la fi Ut 
Thefe they fix invariably to the fame notes and their 
oCtaves; fo that a piece in the key of C is always, faid to 
be in at; or, if in F, it is called a piece in fa, &c. But 
fignior MulTolini (whofe remarks have not met with all 
the attention they deferve) very judicioufly propofes, that 
the key-note of every piece ffiould be made to begin with 
the fame fyllable, Ut (or Do), as the fame intervals, efpe- 
cially the femitones, would then always be expreffed by 
the fame fyllables. The Italians now ufe Do inftead 
of Ut, it being found in practice more convenient to in¬ 
tonate, at leaft in beginning with a low note. In Eng¬ 
land, however, Jolfaing is now little ufed; and we (hall 
therefore in ail cafes employ the letters, A, B, C, &c. 
as being more fimple, more familiar to Britiffi muficians, 
and applicable equally to inftrumental and to vocal mufic. 
Every one knows that mufical notes are written upon 
five horizontal lines, (reckoned from below upwards;) to 
which are occafionaliy added portions of lines above and 
below, which are called leger-lines; (from leger, Fr. flight 
or faint-) 
There are three clefs. The bafs or F clef Ell, placed 
on the fourth line from the bottom, and which deter¬ 
mines every note upon that line to be F, the reft of the 
notes being reckoned upwards or downwards, as may be 
neceflary. The tenor or C clef j||, placed commonly 
on the third line, and making every note upon that line 
C, a fifth above the former, and the middle C upon the 
organ or piano. The treble or G clef moftly placed 
on the fecond line, and every note on that line will then 
be G, a fifth above C. But, for vocal mufic, the F clef 
is fometimes placed on the third line, and is then called 
the baritone clef, being intended for voices of a low 
pitch, between a tenor and a bafs. The C clef is occa- 
fionally placed in four different politions : on the bottom 
line, when it is called the foprano cliff, being the part 
fung by boys or women, (and was formerly ufed in Italy 
and Germany for inftrumental mufic inftead of the treble 
clef;) on the fecond line, when it is called mezzo-foprano, 
but now very feldom ufed ; on the third line, and called 
contra-alto, wdiich is the counter-tenor or higheft men’s 
voices ; and on the fourth line, for the tenor voices. 
Thus in fail we have feven clefs ; and the fame note, or 
found, may have feven different pofitions, according to 
the clef placed before it; for inftance, each of the marks 
in Example i. Plate I. anfwers to the middle C of the harp- 
fir ho rd : and a note in one polition upon paper may, in 
like manner, anfwer to every note or found in an oCIave: 
Ex. 2. The frequent fluffing of the C clef makes the old 
mufic very difficult to read ; and it is ftill the chief diffi¬ 
culty of young practitioners, for no other reafon than be- 
caule it is not now in common ufe; but it would be as 
legible as the treble or bafs, if learned in the fame man¬ 
ner, and if pupils were accuftomed to play favourite 
airs in all kinds of tenor clefs, and tranfpofe by them 
early in their ftudies. The printing new editions of old 
authors of organ and harpfichord pieces, without the ad- 
miffion of tenor clefs, is a miichievous indulgence, which, 
having 
