MUSI C. 
SSI 
on, is precifely the fame thing. It is irregular for a bafs 
carrying the fundamental concord to afeend or defcend 
immediately a fecond or a feventh, except by licenfe or 
omiffion. But this rule does not imply, that the fecond 
or feventh of the fcale may not be ufed as a bafs carrying 
the fundamental concord : on the contrary, they may at 
ail times be ufed, provided they are regularly introduced 
and difmifl'ed by one of the progreffions in the lalt Ex¬ 
ample; and, when other chords intervene, fee Ex. 2. 
Thus, the fecond of the fcale k k k, and the feventh 11 , 
being required as fundamental baffes, the progreffions i i i 
and mm fhow how they ffiould be introduced and dif- 
miffed. The two fundamental balfes in quefticn, meet 
at k 1 , but the progreffion from one to the other is ltriftly 
fundamental. The bafs lin is both leading and conclu- 
five, and determines the key. Laftly, the bafs may af- 
cend one degree, if the fecond bafs carries the fundamental 
difeord, as at no, p q; but, as each chord contains a 
fifth, the fifth in the fecond chord mud defcend on the 
third of the firft bafs, to avoid two fucceffive fifths. 
Progreffions of the Fundamental Difeord. 
The fundamental difeord may either afeend a fourth 
or defcend a fifth into the perfeft concord, or elfe conti¬ 
nue that progreffion with fucceffive chords of the feventh. 
See Ex. 3. The fundamental difeord in progreilions 
mud always commence and conclude with the perfect 
concord, or one of its inverfions. 
Pi •ogreffions by Licence, or Omiffion. 
If the fundamental bafs, carrying the perfeft concord, 
afeend or defcend one degree, it is by licence; becaufe 
there is always fuppofed to be an omitted fundamental bafs 
between tw-o fuch chords. See Ex. 4. where, by fuppofing 
the bafs at t, v, or w, to be between r s, the progreffion at 
r s is allowable. If the fundamental bafs, aarrying the 
difeord of the feventh, afeends one degree into the per- 
feft concord, as at x y, the bafs at z, which re fo Ives the 
preceding chord, mult be fuppofed, though omitted. 
The progreilions *>• s, and x y, ape often ufed ; particu¬ 
lar^ in the interrupted cadence. The fundamental dii- 
cord on the feventh of the major fcale is permitted to 
afeend one degree into the perfect concord, as at h h, 
i i, fince the feventh at h h muft not be treated as a real 
feventh, but as an apparent or diminiihed feventh, which 
fufpends its own fundamental bafs. Therefore the feventh 
at h h is confidered as a fufpenfion of. the £ at It k ; the 
fundamental bafs of which is that at ll. Coniequently the 
progreffion at h Ji, i i, is nothing more than that at mm, nn. 
Natural Harmony cf the Scale. 
Each part of the diatonic fcale, taken as a bafs, has 
fome particular chord naturally belonging to it: which 
conftitutes the natural harmony of the fcale; for no 
fooner is any bafs determined, than its natural chord, 
according to this fcale, prefents itfelf to the imagination; 
and upon this principle any determined meiody alfo im¬ 
plies its own bafs. Any deviation from the natural 
harmony of the fcale is regulated by the progreffions of 
the fundamental bafs. Three parts of the fcale are natu¬ 
rally fundamental, viz. the key-note, the fourth, and the 
fifth. See Ex. 5. The fifth may carry the perfeft concord, 
or the difeord of the feventh, according to circumftances. 
Of the above three fundamental parts of the fcale, the 
chords of all the others, with fome few exceptions, are 
inverfions. Although the fourth is a fundamental part 
of the fcale, yet it cannot properly afeend to or defcend 
from the fifth by the perfeft concord, that not being a 
fundamental progreffion. If then the fourth afeends to 
the fifth by the perfeft concord, as at It k, in Ex. 6. or 
defqends from it as, at h m, it muft be by licence, or by 
fuppofition that the notes i l are omitted fundamental 
baffes. Therefore, in order to make a proper progreffion 
from the fourth to the fifth, another fundamental bafs is 
«q)led into the natural harmony, viz. the difeord pf thp 
feventh on the fecond part of the fcale, as at n. This 
difeord gives the Ij (or its firft inverfion) to the fourth of 
the fcale at o, and confequently produces a regular pro¬ 
greffion between the fourth and fifth at op. Yet when, 
according to the received progreffion of the natural har¬ 
mony of the fcale, the fifth with the perfeft concord 
afeends to the fixth, with the chord of the 6th, as at c/ r ; 
then the fourth of the fcale at v becomes pofitively fun¬ 
damental of the chord at r. Therefore the progreffion s v, 
which is fundamental of q r, muft be admitted; but this, 
as before obferved, can only be under the fuppofition of 
the intermediate bafs at t. The introduction of a fourth 
fundamental bafs muft be confidered as temporary, fo far 
as it relates to the natural harmony of the fcale; for, 
w hen the fourth and fifth parts of the fcale do not fuc- 
ceed each other, as at w x, the fourth may be regularly 
ufed as a fundamental bafs. The ufual conftruCtion of 
the natural harmony of the major and minor feales, with 
the fundamental bafs of each chord, is fhown at Ex. 7. 
In the progreffion of either fcale defeending, the fun¬ 
damental bafs at w x leads out of the original key, but 
which is returned to by the bafs y z. The natural har¬ 
mony of the major and minor feales afeending is pre¬ 
cifely the fame ; but in defeending their harmonies differ, 
and the fourth of the fcale as a fundamental bafs is 
wholly fet afide. 
Of Suspension, Anticipation, and Transition. 
Deviations from the natural harmony of the fcale take 
place by means of fundamental progreffions, or their in¬ 
verfions ; by chords by fuppofition ; or by fufpenfion, an¬ 
ticipation, or tranfition. 
A chord is Jufpended, when one or more parts of a pre¬ 
ceding chord are introduced on the bafs of one fucceed- 
ing. Sufpenfions take place on the accented part of a 
bar, and are refolved on the unaccented part. "See Ex. 8. 
In the above inftances the fufpenfions were in the upper 
parts only; but Ex. 6. will exhibit fufpenfions in the bafs. 
A chord is anticipated, when one part or more of a, 
fucceeding chord is introduced on the bafs of the pre¬ 
ceding one. Anticipations take place on the accented 
part of a bar, and their refolutions on the unaccented 
part. See Ex. 10. 
Had not the fecond chord on each bafs been anticipated 
by notes at h, i, k, l, the above progreffion would have 
run as in Ex. 11. 
If, in palling from any chord to another, one or more 
intermediate notes are introduced which do not belong to 
the fundamental harmony, fuch introduced notes are 
called tranfitions. Tranfition is either regular or irregular. 
Regular tranfition takes place on the part of the bar or 
bafs to which it belongs. See Ex. 12. The regular tran- 
fient notes are thole at li, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t. 
More than one, and even all the upper parts of a chord,, 
may be tranfient, as at v w, and z y, in Ex. 13. If all 
the chords in the example x y are lengthened, as at z , 
then the chords themfelves become tranfient. 
Irregular tranfition takes place on the accented part of 
the bar or bafs to which it belongs, and differs from fuf¬ 
penfion in not being prepared. See Ex. 14. The fingle irre¬ 
gular tranfitions are thofe at h, i, k, l; the double irregular 
tranfitions, thofe at m,n,o,p; and the tranfient chords 
thofe at q, r. From what has been faid of unaccented 
and accented tranfitions, it muft be obvious that in fuch 
a progreffion, as at Ex. 15, the notes marked thus ' are 
tranfient; and thofe marked thus", or thus are mix¬ 
tures of regular and irregular tranfitions. 
Other deviations from the natural fcale may be found 
in great variety in the works of Sebaftian Bach, of which, 
we have felefted as many as occupy the front of Plate V III. 
OF MODULATION. 
Modulation, during the fixteenth century, implied 
nothing more than a change of voice from one found to 
another ; but the ingenious citizen of Geneva, more con¬ 
sonant; 
