Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 4.djvu/160

has been, lest their distinctive qualities of tone should be destroyed. But orchestral qualities, considered as a whole, do slowly change. It would not now be possible to restore the orchestral colouring of Handel or Bach.

The most strident reed-tone is heard in the harmonium. In that variety called the American organ, the force of the high upper partials engendered by the action of the reed, is qualified by altering its position and form. It is impossible in a dictionary article to carry out the discussion of various qualities of tone, even as far as the subject is already known; the writer can only refer the inquirer to the best existing sources of our knowledge: to the great work of Helmholtz already referred—to especially in Mr. Ellis's translation, which contains appendices of great importance; to the writings of Dr. Stone and M. Mahillon on wind instruments; to Mr. Walter Broadwood's translation of an essay by Theobald Boehm, on the flute, and to some interesting articles 'In the Organ and in the Orchestra,' written by Mr. Hermann Smith, and published in 'Musical Opinion.' The writer can only lay claim to independent investigation as regards the pianoforte and its congeners. [See Timbre.]

[ A. J. H. ]

TONES or TUNES, GREGORIAN. The most typical examples of the Church Modes, which are described at p. 340 b of vol. ii. [See also Gregorian Tones, in Appendix.]

[ G. ]

TONIC SOL-FA is the name of a method of teaching singing which has become popular in England during the last thirty years. It is the method now most generally used in primary schools, and is adopted widely for the training of popular choirs. Its leading principle is that of 'key relationship' (expressed in the word 'Tonic'), and it enforces this by the use of the ancient sound-names, do, re, mi, etc., as visible, as well as oral, symbols. These names are first put before a class of beginners in the form of a printed picture of the scale, called a 'Modulator.' For simplicity's sake they are spelt English-wise, and si is called te to avoid having two names with the same initial letter.

d1		f1
t	—	m1	—	l
l	—	r1	—	s
s	—	DOH1	—	f
		TE	—	m
f	ta		le
m	—	LAH	—	r
	la	se
r	—	SOH	—	d
		ba	fe	t1
d	—	FAH
t1	—	ME	—	l1
	ma		re
l1	—	RAY	—	s1
	de
s1	—	DOH	—	f1
		t1	—	m1
f1
m1	—	l1	—	r1
r1	—	s1	—	d1
				t2
d1	—	f1
t2	—	m1	—	l2

In the first lessons the teacher practises the class in the singing of the sounds as he points to the name of each, first taking the do, me, soh, of the common chord, making his pupils feel the special character of each sound, its distinguishing melodic effect, and afterwards training them to recognise the intermediate sounds in the same way. It is on this 'feeling' of the different character of each sound, the difference due to its place in the scale, that the greatest stress is laid. When the pupil has caught the perception of these differences, and has learnt to associate the difference of the feeling with the difference of the name, he has grasped, in its essential principle, the secret of singing at sight.—The central column only of the modulator is used at first. The lateral columns are for teaching and explaining change of key. The fe, se, etc. represent the occasionally used 'chromatic' sounds, i.e. 'flats' and 'sharps' not involving modulation into a new key. The names of the sounds are so placed on the modulator as to show, accurately, the true positions of the sounds in the natural (untempered) scale. When the class can, with some readiness, sing the sounds as the teacher points to them on the modulator, they are introduced to exercises printed in a notation formed out of the initials of the scale-names; d standing for doh, r for ray, etc. The duration of each sound is indicated by the linear space it occupies, each line of print being spaced out into divisions by bars and dots. A 'rest' is shown by a blank space, the prolongation of a sound by a line (—) occupying the space. Sounds in upper and lower octaves are distinguished by small figures: thus, d¹, r¹, etc. signify an upper octave; d₁ r₁ etc. a lower. The following is an example of a vocal score:—

Key D.M. 60.

Thomas Ford.

p

rf

Treble.

$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$

:d

d

: — .r

m

:f

s

:f

.m

r

:l

s

:—

s

f

:m

1. Since

first

I

saw

your

face,

I

re -

solv'd

To

hon

-

our

and

re-

Alto.

:d

d

: — .d

d

:d

r

:r

.r

r

:r

m

:—

.d

t1

:d

Tenor.

:m

m

: f

s

:l

t

:t

.t

t

:l .t

d1

:—

.s

s

:s

2. The

sun,

whose

beams

most

glo -

ri -

ous

are,

Re-

ject

-

eth

no

be-

Bass.

:d

d

: — .d

d

:l1

s1

:s1

.s1

s

:f

m

:—

.m

r

:d