On the Eskimo Music. 7 
That the songs of aboriginal people are very frequently in 
another scale than our chromatic, has often escaped the attention of 
recorders, who have without thinking reproduced the melodies in 
our tonal system. Yet we know of a traveller from the beginning 
of the 19th century, Tilesius, who had noted that the natives of the 
Marquesas Islands distinctly used fourths in their songs.’ In recent 
years the recording of primitive music has been carried out with 
great exactness, and differences from our tonal system have been 
found among various races. 
Further, a persistent variation from the chromatic scale is by no 
means restricted to such races. It has been detected even in Euro- 
pean folk-songs.? The Swiss peasants, for example, sing thirds a 
little too high, fourths still higher and the minor seventh too low.” 
With regard to our East Greenland material, as already men- 
tioned, about one half has been recorded on the phonograph. So 
far as could be done, we have calculated the number of wave-lengths 
of the tones in the melodies taken phonographically. For this in- 
vestigation we have made use of Е. M. у. HORNBOSTEL’s “Reisetono- 
meter.” Further, I have calculated the intervals in the melodies 
according to A. I. Ellis’ system‘, the distance between the single 
tones being expressed in cents (1 ha)f-tone in the tempered [12 toned] 
scale = 100 cents). I would express here my heartiest thanks to 
Professor К. KRomAN for the valuable guidance I have received from 
him regarding the tonometric investigations. Before each melody 
the estimate in cents is indicated under the notes, while above the 
notes I have indicated the value of each tone in relation to the 
tonus currens of the melody, which is considered to agree exactly 
with a tone in our 12 toned scale.) We have not been able to 
! Engel, An Introduction to the study of National Music, pp. 32—33. (London 1866). 
2 Ludwig Riemann, Uber eigentiimliche bei Natur- und orientalischen Kulturvôlkern 
vorkommende Tonreihen, S. 77—81 (Essen 1899). 
3 Engel, National Music, р. 32. 
+ Journ. of the Society of Arts, 27 March 1885. 
5 Sometimes there may be some doubt as to the determination of the intervals; 
for example in No. 72. Here A is tonus currens; the deepest tone of the melody 
lies between F and E. Should the interval be indicated by F—A or Е А? 
I prefer here the third, as all related melodies (е. g. No. 81, 86, 121, 125, 126) 
use a third. In No. 72, A? and A? the interval 503 cents quite clearly occurs, 
thus a fourth; but this number has arisen by the singer here singing the tonus 
currens one-third of a half-tone higher, whilst F remains unchanged. Thus the 
cents superfluous for the third are distributed on the tonus currens and the first | 
= 0,64 +0,39 
tone If — Ab 
Possibly in No. 124 we should also replace the given C, E flat, A flat with 
XL. 2 
