Science teaches that the air which we breathe, and which surrounds us in such apparent quietude, is constantly disturbed by waves or vibrations, which convey to us the impressions of the natural phenomena such as sound, light and heat. The vibrations travel at various rates of speed, sound waves having the slowest rate of any phenomena of which the senses take cognizance. The slowest perceptible heat vibrations pass through the air at a rate of one hundred and thirty-four trillions per second, and the slowest visible light vibrations at a rate of four hundred and eighty-three trillions, while the approximate rate of audible sound waves is from sixteen to thirty-six thousand five hundred per second, although physicists differ in their estimates. Sound vibrations traveling at a much higher or lower rate have no effect upon the normal ear, although the power of appreciation differs in individuals.

Races and even individuals variously determine the periods or groups into which sound vibrations are to be divided to form musical sounds. The periods in Chinese music are so unusual to western ears that they are unpleasant, and the music is wrongfully termed noise, although the mere fact that the vibrations occur in periodic groups in accordance with the established Chinese scale prove it to be musical. The same reasoning applies to western music from the standpoint of the Chinese and other Asiatic nations, some of whom can appreciate periods so small that they are not apparent to other races.

No rules can determine what a musical sound is, for music, like language, is governed by laws created by man, and are constantly undergoing change; and because the language of one country is at first unintelligible to the people of another, makes it no less permissible for them to affirm that it is no language, than for the European to speak of Chinese music as noise because he cannot appreciate what are to him unusual groups of vibrations. However, the mind can be trained until the language can be under-stood and spoken, and the music can be enjoyed and produced. Furthermore, all the musical sounds possible in the European scale are not pleasant to all European ears, and music is subservient to taste as well as to race and training. In the same manner a word, or a combination of words, to individuals may be entirely lacking in euphony, although conforming to all the laws which govern the spelling and grammar of their native language.

The great importance the training of the ear assumes regarding the qualities of musical sounds is forcibly exemplified in a comparison of the delight with which a musician listens to the intricacies of classical music, which to the uninitiated are exceedingly uninteresting, with the disgust which he feels when hearing much of the popular music. Only with training can the ear distinguish between the correct and incorrect combination of groups of sound vibrations, and which groups and combinations are considered proper depends upon whether the training was received in Asia, Europe, or Africa.

The vibrations in the air which affect the ear owe their existence to the vibrations of a substance, i. e., a string, a column of air, a membrane, or a solid body. The body must be elastic, and the greater the degree of elasticity, the greater will be the regularity at which the groups of vibrations may occur, and the more exact will be the tones which they produce. This peculiarity is considered by piano-makers in their selection of wire for piano strings, and has figured in the improvements which have been made in wire manufacture, the tendency having been toward a wire having the least body and the greatest strength.

The vibrations of strings present themselves as most easily to be examined as they are visible to a certain degree, although the motion of the string generally appears more as a quiver than as a series of vibrations. The vibrations can be clearly seen when the string is fastened so loosely between two points that its vibrations are not audible. The position of rest of such a string will be a straight line. If pulled to one side, and the hand removed, the string will not remain in its second position, but will immediately return to its position of rest. However, the power of motion will not be gone, but will carry the string equally as far in the opposite direction from the position of rest. This double motion is a vibration, and until the force of the impetus is spent the vibrations will continue, growing shorter until they cease. As the string is stretched tighter, the vibrations occur in greater numbers per second, and the pitch of the resulting tone is higher, for there are two fundamental laws which govern the vibrations of strings.

The shorter, finer, lighter, and tenser a string is, the more rapid are its vibrations, and the higher is its tone ; hence those strings which are designed to produce acute sounds are short, light, and thin. The longer, thicker, heavier, and slacker a string is, the slower its vibrations and the lower its tone ; hence those strings designed to produce grave sounds are longer, heavier, and thicker.

When the string vibrates freely in its entire length it produces its lowest tone, called its fundamental, or first harmonic. At the points where the string is fastened there are no vibrations, and these points of rest are termed nodes. That part of the string which vibrates is called the vibrating segment.

The second harmonic of a string is an octave higher than the first, and may be produced by lightly touching the string at the middle when it is to be set in vibration. The string will not vibrate in a single segment as before, but a third node will be formed at the point of contact, and the one vibrating segment will be changed to two, which, as they are shorter, will produce the higher tone. If the string be touched or stopped at a point a third of its length from one end, a node is formed at the point of contact, and a second node forms spontaneously at a point two-thirds from the end. This creates three shorter vibrating segments, and the third harmonic, five tones higher than the second, is produced. The existence of nodes and vibrating segments can be made apparent upon a string stretched to a tension great enough to cause sound vibrations.

Four narrow strips of paper may be folded in the middle to form riders, and seated upon the string, one in the middle, one at each point one-sixth of the length from the ends, and one at the two-thirds point. If the string is stopped and set in vibration as indicated, the first three riders will be unseated, while the fourth will remain in its place, proving that at that point the string is at rest, and that the fourth node has formed spontaneously, dividing the string into three vibrating segments. The fourth harmonic is formed by touching the string at a point one-fourth from the end, which causes two additional nodes to form spontaneously, producing a tone a fourth higher than the third harmonic, and an octave higher than the second. In a like manner the succeeding harmonics are formed, although the amount of difference in pitch lessens as they ascend in number. These natural harmonics are also known as overtones, because of their higher pitch as compared with the fundamental, or as partials, because they are the results of the vibrations of fractional parts of the string.

The double-bass produces the tone which is considered the lowest musical tone proper, and contains forty-one and one-quarter vibrations. However, the thirty-two-foot pipe of the organ produces a still lower tone, whose vibrations occur at the rate of thirty per second, but its pitch is so low that it resembles a rumble more than a musical sound.

Pythagoras, a mathematician, living during the Sixth Century before the Christian era, discovered partial vibrations of strings by means of his monochord, an instrument which is still used by experimenters. It consisted of a long narrow box over which was stretched a single string, either between two pegs or by means of one peg and a weight.

Differences in degrees of loudness are due to differences in the amplitude of the vibrations, and not to differences in their formation. In strings the amplitude depends upon the force exerted in causing the vibrations. The more forcibly it is struck the farther will the string depart from its normal straightness, but it will not vibrate any more rapidly. The higher tones affect the ear more forcefully than the lower tones, and the acute tones of a musical production will be heard at a greater distance than will the grave tones. The greater speed at which the vibrations of the higher tones occur causes this effect.

Musical tones having the same pitch and the same degree of loudness when produced upon the violin, have a much different quality than when produced upon the flute. The individual quality is so marked that, after having been heard, the voice of either instrument is readily recognized. This quality is termed timbre, and owes its existence to the shape which sound vibrations assume. A tone is a compound affair. The vibrations which produce the fundamental of a string are accompanied by a number of the shorter vibrations, which produce the partials. That which causes a string to vibrate in its entirety also causes it to vibrate in its sections. The number of accompanying vibrations determines the quality or timbre of the tone, which would otherwise be without life or individuality. A tone which is theoretically pure is absolutely without character, for it is merely a simple group of sound vibrations, and given the same number per second, and the same amplitude, would be the same upon all instruments.

The prime reason of the existence of the various musical instruments is that each has its individual voice, owing to the varying number of accompanying vibrations or partial tones governed by the mechanical construction of the instrument. It has been stated that the timbre of a tone depends upon the shape of the sound waves. The several vibrations cannot exist separately in the atmosphere, but combine into a complex form of wave. Nevertheless, with proper training the ear can distinguish partial vibrations from the fundamental, for it is the duty of the auditory nerves, situated in the membrane which forms the ear drum, to analyze every sound wave that reaches them. The mammoth complex wave that is formed by a chorus and orchestra, combined with the noise of a large audience, must pass through a needle-like entrance to the ear drum, where the nerves analyze it until the voices, the instruments, and the noise are heard separately.

The number and intensity of partials accompanying a given tone depend upon the elasticity of the sonorous body, upon the manner of causing it to vibrate, and upon the point where the impact is made. The same tone of a string will have a different timbre when the string is struck, plucked. or bowed. Partials that have a tendency to make the tone rich and full, are produced when the string is set in vibration near one of its fixed extremities. Although a general knowledge of acoustics or of this property of strings was not possessed by early piano-makers, yet, unknown to them, for this reason they took great care in determining where the hammer was to strike. All partials that have nodes at or near the point of contact cannot sound. The hammers in pianos generally strike at one-seventh to one-ninth of the length of the string. This excludes all partials that are inharmonious, for some of the partials, if allowed to sound, would detract from the purity of the compound tone.

The material which causes the string to vibrate also has a great effect upon the quality of the tone. The hammers of the piano may be too hard at the point where they come in contact with the strings, in which case they create too many audible partials. A string that is long and fine is much more elastic, and will create more easily the correct number of primary and secondary vibrations to form a perfect tone. The higher partials are much more apparent in wire strings 'than in those of gut, for the material of the latter naturally smothers those which are very high. If the string is plucked with a hard. substance the higher partials will be produced, as when a hard hammer is used. The gut strings of the harp and guitar are plucked with the fingers, and the fundamentals are accompanied by the lower partials, causing the tones to be rich and full. On the other hand, the wire strings of the zither and mandolin are plucked with a plectrum, calling forth the upper partials, and creating a more tinkling tone. Bowing creates more partial vibrations than any other method, and the higher the tension to which the hair of the violin bow is stretched, and the less sparingly the rosin has been applied, the more easily will the higher harmonics be sounded.

The vibrations of the column of air in a pipe are much less easy to study, but many of the statements which have been made regarding strings are equally true of pipes. The pipe itself only serves to imprison the vibrating column of air, and has nothing to do with the production of sound except as to its length and the peculiarities of its bore. Longer pipes, like longer strings, produce lower fundamentals. The harmonics are produced by increasing the force of bowing.

In open pipes a node always occurs in the middle, with a vibrating segment at each end, and the column of air can be divided into infinite vibrating segments in producing partials. A closed cylindrical pipe produces a tone an octave lower in pitch than that of an open one of the same dimensions, and the number of partials of any closed pipe is limited to those having odd numbers. When the vibrations reach the stopped end of the pipe, they cannot escape into the outer air, but must return to the open end. As they turn the corner, a vibrating segment is always formed, and there is never a node at the middle of the series of vibrations, and without it there cannot be an even number of vibrating segments. The limited number of partials renders the tone of stopped pipes dull, although they are often used in the organ to economize space. The old flutes, or recorders, had conical bores stopped at the smaller end. These peculiarities produced the same fundamental as an open pipe of cylindrical bore having the same length. Because of the inferior quality of the tones produced, due to the lack of partials, the bore was changed to cylindrical.

In cup mouthpiece instruments, such as the trumpet or horn, a narrow bore brings out the fundamental, accompanied by only a few partials. On the other hand, with a wide bore the fundamental is less pronounced, and the partials as high as the sixteenth can be easily produced. The extreme brilliancy and acuteness of tone of many of this class of instruments are due to the presence of numerous higher partials, which, because of their greater speed in vibrating affect the ear more forcibly. By increasing the force with which a string is set in vibration, the amplitude of the sound waves is increased, and the tone produced is louder; increased force in blowing into a pipe will merely heighten the pitch, the degree of loudness increasing with the diameter of the bore.

The vibrations of a column of air within any tube owe their existence to the vibrations of some material thing, which, by vibrating, causes the current of air directed against it to divide in such a manner as to reach the column of air in the form of a series of little puffs, each of which, by compression, communicates an impulse to the column. This leads directly to a discussion of the manner in which sound waves travel.

Sound travels through the air without displacing it. Its passage is like that of motion in water which has been disturbed. The troubled surface seems to be advancing constantly in waves that mount higher and higher, and then subside. These statements refer strictly to waves, and not to currents, tides, or the various other phenomena of water. A cork that is placed in the disturbed water will rise and fall with the waves, but it remains in practically the same place, serving as a proof that the water is not advancing. In reality the motion is not horizontal, but vertical, and merely affects the molecules which form the water. Certain molecules are compressed, and transmit an impulse to the molecules adjoining without changing position. The billowing surface only indicates the onward transmission of the impulse.

Following an understanding of this characteristic of motion, it will be seen plainly that sound requires an appreciable time for its transmission through the air from the point of its creation to the hearer. A well-known example of this is the manner in which, at a distance, the report of a cannon is heard several seconds after the flash is seen, the condition of the atmosphere governing the speed with which the sound travels. Sound waves lose strength as they are transmitted through space, but it is interesting to note the distances which they can travel and retain their force. Two tuning forks, whose vibrations had been enlarged by means of a resonance box, were placed one at each end of a conduit, a mile in length. One was set in vibration, and the vibrations traversed the entire distance to the second, causing it to produce a distinct sound. A similar experiment can be tried with two tuning forks, or two resonant plates, situated not far apart.

Without air there is no sound. If a sonorous substance was caused to vibrate within a space where a vacuum had been created, no sound would be audible, for there would be nothing to receive the vibrations and carry them to the hearer. However, as air was allowed to enter the vacuum, they gradually would become audible.

Reflection by which the echo is produced is one of the most interesting of the phenomena of sound. If a speaker pronounces a syllable in a large, empty room having bare walls, the sound of his voice will be returned to him after a short period in a repetition of the syllable. In a succession of words this produces a very confusing effect, and many public speakers affect a slow enunciation in order that one sound and its echo may die away before a new vibration is produced. Caves, tunnels, and irregularities in the outlines of buildings also create echoes. The distance of the reflecting surface from the speaker has a peculiar effect. If the distance is about one hundred and ten feet the sound is repeated once, but if this distance is doubled, the repetition will occur twice, and in like ratio up to about five repetitions, when the number will be limited by the time required for sound to travel. When there are several reflecting surfaces, the echo will be a multiple echo, that is, the sound may be repeated as often as forty times, although it has been observed that the number depends somewhat upon the condition of the atmosphere; for instance, more will occur at night than during the day. The causes of echoes are not thoroughly understood, and they cannot be made to order. An Englishman took great delight in an echo which was produced in an European country house, and he determined to carry it home. Complying with his orders, the building was taken apart, each piece marked and carried to England, where they were set into place again, but the echo was missing. In some minute detail the structure had been changed and the power of reflection was lost.

In whispering galleries the sound vibrations are not only reflected, but they are increased in amplitude, so that a whisper inaudible to some one a few feet away will be very distinct at a distance of a hundred or more feet. There are a number of famous structures which have this peculiarity, among them the dome of St. Peter's at Rome. The Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, is perhaps the most striking. The lines of the walls and ceiling are curved, and when the building is empty a whisper can be heard the entire length, over two hundred feet:. The ear trumpet is a species of whispering gallery. The sound which enters the large end is increased, until it issues from the smaller end with a force capable of affecting the ear drum, which could not perceive the original vibrations.

Although many important observations have been made concerning the acoustic properties of buildings, it is impossible for architects to arrange plans which will produce proper results. It is a matter of chance, and the circumstances producing the best effects cannot be copied. Rooms in which the reflection of sound is too pronounced may be improved by covering the walls with hangings, or irregularities of surface. The architect who was in charge of the restoration of the hall of the Conservatory at Paris so feared marring the almost perfect acoustic properties that he would not change even a box partition or a hanging, such minor details having been found to be of great importance.

Reflection is the fundamental principle of the speaking tube, which enables persons in different parts of a building to communicate. The smooth interior, and the elastic material from which it is made, do not detract from the strength of the sound vibrations, and they reach the end of a long length of tube in much the same condition as when their journey was begun.

Sound vibrations which encounter obstacles in their passage through the air, bend about them, and either lose or retain their power. Acute sounds, whose vibrations are short, lose by the encounter, but those which are grave, and have longer vibrations, are much less affected. For this reason the music produced by a brass band will assume a very changed character if the band is situated at a distance from the hearer, and objects of various descriptions intervene.

Certain substances, for instance membranes and wood, are very susceptible to sound vibrations. A violoncello hanging on the wall of a room will vibrate strongly without having been touched if a tone corresponding with one of its strings is sung within the room. The vibrations created by the voice pass through the air and come in contact with the susceptible wood and strings, which again translate the vibrations into sound by sympathetic vibrations. This is similar to the case of the two tuning forks placed in opposite ends of the conduit, as mentioned above.

Much of the sound produced by musical instruments that reaches the ear is due to sympathetic vibrations or resonance. This principle is applied with greater nicety in the violin. The sound given off by the strings alone is very small, but is first transmitted to the bridge, thence to the belly, and through the sound--post over which the left foot of the bridge rests, to the back. The fibers of the wood must run smoothly in order that the transmission of the vibrations will be uninterrupted, and none of them lost. The delicate voice of the instrument is due to the unity in which the vibrations of the back and belly occur. The vibrations of the strings of a piano are transmitted through a bridge to the sounding board, which vibrates sympathetically, much as does the body of the violin. Nearly all the stringed instruments embody this principle, and the extreme susceptibility of membranes to sympathetic vibrations has caused them to be used in this manner, although the use is limited to instruments of lesser importance.

Mythology is ancient man's effort to explain natural phenomena, and in all countries the gods have been regarded as the inventors of music and the instruments of music.

There exist beautiful stories hard to discard for the theories of evolution. Underneath the fancy, however, there lies a conjecture worthy of respect. The myths point to nature as the first music teacher. Were not the sounds of nature ever present for man's vocal imitation? The wind in the trees has a voice of its own, as do the birds and the animals.

There is rhythm in all things. The wild man is driven by his emotions to that rhythmical swaying of his body which is his dance. The mother sorrowing over the dead child sways and bends in rhythm until she is exhausted, The joyful wedding-guests dance or watch other swaying forms. When man fights man, the warriors stimulate their courage with the dance. It is rarely a noise-less dance, but is accompanied primarily by hand clapping, which survives today with the shuffling dance of the southern negro. The hand clapping may be combined with the beating of drums. The hollow tree accidentally struck was perhaps the first inanimate thing to speak. The hearer was no doubt startled into such a feeling of awe by the mystery surrounding the production of the new sound, that he made a god of the tree, and as he discovered that other hollow and solid things spoke, his gods increased. From the hollow tree grew the drum, which means much to primitive men. It may be their god, or it may serve as a medium for communication with their god. It instils joy, sadness, or courage. It can give orders in battle and carry messages in peaceful times. The sounds produced by the drum possess strong attraction to the ears of the savage, and this led to its early transformation into an instrument of music, and in this latter capacity it appears in the present military bands and orchestras.

Herodotus writes that Athene, the goddess of knowledge, invented the flute, but threw it away because of the facial distortions its playing caused. In its stead she took the lyre, which Hermes, the winged messenger of the gods, had invented and had given to Apollo, the god of music. Apollo praised the wonderful sound, which neither gods nor men had heard before, as until then he had been contented with the amorous sighing of the flute. But long before Athene's flute or Apollo's lyre were heard, music had come into being with the cymbals of the Curetes, the attendants of Zeus.

The Greeks attributed the discovery of the open pipe to the uncouth Pan, the god of the shepherds, who loved the beautiful Syrinx, but whose rough wooing won him only disdain. Finally he pursued the nymph to the reedy bank of the stream, where in desperation she called upon the gods for help. In answer they transformed her into a reed that grew with the others on the bank. The baffled Pan ruefully viewed the swaying mass, and as the subtle music of the wind blowing over the broken stalks stole into his heart, he quickly grasped the suggestion and pulled a reed, and placing it to his lips, told of his love in dulcet tones, wooing as he had never wooed with words.

The antiquarian, on the other hand, explains that the bone pipe existed before the reed, fashioned in many cases from the bones of the slain enemy or the beast of prey. Even now the Lama priests use the bones of their departed brethren in the making of their temple music. The mound builders have left such musical relics. Indeed, we are told that there was a time when no reeds grew, and rocks were everywhere. It was then that the cave man lived, and out-side his door there ever lay whitening bones, full of suggestions. When and why man was inclined to put an open pipe to his. lips for the production of sound, baffles the theorist.

The Egyptians ascribed the honor of discovering the principle of plucked strings to Thoth, their Mercury, who in passing along the bank of the Nile after a rainy season, struck with his foot the skeleton of a tortoise which had been left on the bank by the receding waters. The dried muscles and tendons had been drawn taut by the wind and the sun, and the movement caused them to vibrate and produce the sound which attracted the god. He secured the skeleton, and it became the first lyre. The Greeks tell of a more simple beginning of stringed instruments. Apollo and Artemis were enjoying the hunt, when Apollo perceived the twanging of his sister's bow string, and the deadly weapon of the hunt was transformed into the foundation of the violin and of the piano. The Grecian story is more logical, as primitive man in many instances has been found converting his bow into an instrument whose string he plucks to produce musical tones. There are many possible explanations of the origin of musical instruments, and man's imagination has added much that is picturesque.

The Assyrians have left behind them representations of their instruments, and a few remains have been found in the excavations at Nineveh. No corresponding names having been discovered, those of the similar instruments of other countries have been assigned to these ancient relics.

On the other hand, the ancient Hebrews had but one instrument that is known to the modern world, the shophar. The Bible abounds in musical references and names of instruments, but throughout the pages there is no word of description. At times the names are in Hebrew, and at others in Chaldean, hence their etymologies are impossible to trace, and each translator has added a shade of meaning clear only to himself. This state of affairs has created such havoc that sackbut and other modern names figure in the Old Testament. Volumes have been written in the effort to make the subject clear, but without success, for there is nothing tangible upon which to base the deductions.

To some extent the careless naming of instruments has continued to the present time. As distinctive features were added in the process of evolution, the name, perhaps descriptive of the older instrument, was not immediately discarded, and the transition from the old to the new was so gradual as to render distinction difficult. Even for the enlightened there are pitfalls, and the use of names is dangerous for the slipshod novelist. The musically wise have at times culled the blunders thereby occurring, and have cast them before the public with facetious comments. Some are dank and mouldy and need not be disturbed, but the general writer is ever attracted by the alluring names. Shakespeare trod upon the treacherous ground without serious mishap, but he can be classed alone. Tennyson has been harshly upbraided for his flute, violin and bassoon combination which furnished the music for the ball. Orchestration for this limited group would be indeed difficult, and the somber growls of the bassoon would rather overpower than blend with the delicate voices of the violin and the flute.

A year has not passed since a popular musical monthly, in answers to historical questions, stated that Handel favored the clavichord or spinet. It is true that he enjoyed the clavichord, but the names are by no means synonymous, and refer to entirely different instruments. In that oft-repeated story of the small keyboard instrument, surreptitiously carried to the garret and practised upon by the youthful Handel, the entire number of stringed instruments have been made to figure, although in reality a small clavichord was used. The case of mistaken identity has been assisted by the picture which looks down from the wall of many music rooms, and in which the future master of the oratorios is shown surrounded by nightcapped elders who have been awakened by his music, and have surprised him in his enjoyment of forbidden pleasures. He is seated at an instrument, in size resembling a small piano, which causes the beholder to reflect wonderingly on the means of its secret conveyance to the garret.

The Egyptians are regarded as the most ancient of the civilized nations who have left to the world any knowledge of their music and its instruments. For many years after the discovery of traces of this ancient civilization, the Egyptians were considered a non-musical people. This supposition prevailed until a recent date, but has been disproved by the revelations of the last century. The Assyrians, of whom even less is known than of the Egyptians, show in their bas-reliefs that they also had instruments of consider-able development. Students of ancient India assert that music, and in fact all of the arts, long ago existed there, and had assumed a highly developed state. Knowledge of music, as knowledge of all else, is claimed by China from time unknown. Greece acknowledged the more ancient musical skill of Egypt and borrowed ideas and instruments from the older land. The Greeks in turn instructed the Romans. From Egypt, Assyria, India and China, the knowledge naturally spread throughout Asia, and was brought by the Saracens to Turkey, and by the Moors to Spain, and thence to the rest of Europe. The steps by which the progress continued are defaced by time, but there are chance glimmerings which reveal the general trend of the way.

The maker of musical instruments must know many intricate laws of acoustics in order to construct instruments capable of producing musical tones as designed. The maker may not know the laws as the physicist knows them, and it is doubtful if he could write a treatise concerning what he does know and why it is true. The knowledge has grown with experience, and has been handed down through the generations, until during the last few centuries the science of acoustics has added new knowledge and made clear the old.

It has been explained that musical tones are groups of sound vibrations, and that these groups differ in pitch, loudness and timbre. In producing instrumental music, the performer can determine the loudness to a degree, but the instrument-maker must determine the pitch and timbre. The longer the vibrating string or column of air, the deeper will be the pitch, and to accommodate the longer string or column, the instrument must be proportionately large. The vibrations of the strings of the violin and the piano do not differ in a degree sufficient to account for the great difference in the tone of the two instruments. Instead, the cause is the dissimilar surroundings and manner of causing vibrations. The instrument-maker considers the vibrations much as the modeler does his clay, fashioning the groups so that they may have the proper timbre. He selects and arranges that which produces the vibrations, in such a manner that the fundamental may be accompanied by the correct number of partials to form a given tone, and adds still more character to the tone by the means employed in creating the vibrations.

The instruments used in the production of musical sounds, when considered with regard to that which produces the sound vibrations, fall into four general divisions : Sonorous substances, vibrating membranes, wind instruments, and stringed instruments. Solid and hollow bodies, embracing the first two divisions, are caused to produce sound vibrations by blows, but the last two divisions are subdivided into several classes as to the method of creating the vibrations.

The vibrating column of air in wind instruments is set into 'motion by the vibrations of thin strips of material or air, or of membranes caused by currents of air directed by the lips of a performer, or by mechanical means. The elastic strips of material are called reeds, and are used either singly or in pairs. A single-beating reed is one which beats against the side of a pipe in dividing the current of air into the puffs which create vibrations in the air column, and double reeds beat against each other in dividing the air current. Another variety of reed is called the free reed, and is fastened at one end in such a manner that in its vibrations it does not come in contact with any other material, but is entirely free in its movement.

In wind instruments, such as the flute, the material reed is replaced with the column of air directed from without by the lips of the performer, or by mechanical means. It vibrates and performs a function identical with that of the reeds. In still others of this division the lips of the per-former vibrate within a cup-shaped mouthpiece, and create such disturbances in the column of air within the tube as will produce sound vibrations.

In the stringed instruments the vibrations are produced by plucking the strings with the fingers, or with pieces of material, by striking them with hammers, or by rubbing them with a bow or a rosined wheel. As these characteristics have been improved and have been applied in various combinations, the development of musical instruments has progressed. In the following pages an endeavor has been made to more fully explain the methods of producing sound vibrations and the development of the instruments.

The term sonorous substances refers to all instruments which have hollow or solid bodies. The theory of producing sound vibrations in instruments of this division is of greatest simplicity, for no method of determining pitch by the stroke has been discovered. The larger the body, the deeper and louder will be the tone, for there will be more vibrating surface, and sonorous bodies of varying sizes can be arranged to give a series of musical tones.

The theory regarding the suggestion given by the hollow tree is made more probable by the present use of hollow wood among the African and Asiatic peoples, and among the Indians of the Western Hemisphere. The Chinese yu, or wooden tiger, with its serrated back, and the Japanese mokugyo, or wooden fish, are fanciful forms which it has assumed. The Sandwich Islanders have a bowl which they strike with their feet, and there is a story of a South American god who gave to the people seeds that produced a gourd ; another god gave a variety of small stones which were put within the gourd, and the rattle was placed upon a standard, where it predicted all manner of things for the people.

The dull voice of the wood has given place, in general use, to the sharper voice of metal, as it appears in the bell and the gong. The propensity of metal to produce many of the higher partials gives its tones that brilliancy which is impossible in wood, whose lack of elasticity smothers many of the partial vibrations. Very hard, dry wood has a sharper voice than has soft, green wood. Although metal has at all times held a decided prominence as the substance from which very sonorous instruments are made, pottery and glass have appeared in unusual specimens, and a few bells and gongs of wood or bamboo have lent their meager voices to the Oriental orchestra.

The bell was an early production of the eastern nations. The Chinese claim to have possessed bells even before a knowledge of how to hang them. This important secret was unfolded for them by a monkey with a forked tail, which enabled him to acquire a habit of hanging, during rainy seasons, upon a limb of a tree with a fork of his tail in each nostril, thus completing a circle.

Specimens of bells have been found in Egyptian mummy cases, and in excavations at Nineveh, crude in outline, lacking the curves necessary to a perfect tone, and of inferior metal composition. Long ago China was wise in the science of bell casting, and there are in existence perfect bells that were made many centuries before the Christian era. Their next knowledge of the properties of sonorous substances is shown in the exact tuning of the metal and stone chimes that figure prominently in their temple services. These chimes have an interest and significance all their own. The time and care expended by William Till, of England, in arranging the stone harmonica, as exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum, and by M. Baudre, of Paris, who spent from 1852 to 1876 in searching out flints from which to arrange a musical scale, suggest the extent of the necessary musical knowledge of old China.

The bell has served in many capacities. The Hebrew priest wore many small ones upon his robe while in the synagogue, for is he not admonished in Exodus xxviii. 35, " His sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the Holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not." The Roman sentry wore a set of bells while occupied with his duties, that the sound might inform the centurion as to his faithfulness. The dainty Japanese dancing-girl at all times wears a string of bells about her ankles. It is a token of her vocation which she must never discard. This practise has suggested the proverb " You have tied on the bells," which signifies " the die is cast." The costume bell is an interesting conceit. Commonly the figure forming it represented some historical character, perhaps Voltaire, Louis XVI., or Napoleon, and figures of these great folk have thus often served in calling my lady's maid.

There has been an abundance of superstition surrounding bells. In Europe a new church bell was not used until it had been consecrated with the entire baptismal ceremony. It was the tradition that the bell would never sound until it was made holy. Even now this practise continues in a few localities. Before the fact was known that the motion of a bell through air charged with electricity tended to attract the electricity, the superstition existed that the ringing of a church bell would avert disaster during a thunder-storm.

Bells of the early part of the Christian era were made of riveted plates; there are a number of these still in existence, but their value was small, as can easily be appreciated. With the loosening of the rivets caused by ringing, the clear tone of the bell was lost. The plates forming the bell were beaten into proper thickness and shape, and the process could not bring about as perfect results as does casting, and riveted bells fell into disuse. As time progressed, the knowledge of bell founding has increased, and peals and chimes, in which appear bells that have been cast of such size and thickness that they may produce the tones of the musical scale, have existed for many centuries. A peculiarity of bells is that they emit two distinct sounds simultaneously. The tones differ in pitch, which accounts for the rising and falling of sound when a bell is vibrating. Small bells have this quality to a greater extent than large ones, and even those used in carillons are dissonant.

Cymbals also have a long history. It is believed that they originated among the Turks and Arabs. Those of Turkish make produce the finest tones, and the composition of the metal is retained as a secret. A slight resemblance may be discerned between the clappers figuring in the bas-reliefs of the Assyrians and the Egyptians, and these clashing time-beaters.

Another member of the orchestra is the triangle, which is a bar of steel bent into triangular form, and beaten with a rod of the same metal. The triangle, like the majority of sonorous instruments, lends its clear, sharp speech to mark time.

Among the instruments of this division must be mentioned the sistrum, which is first found in the ancient worship of Isis in Egypt. Here it was called seshesh. The sistrum consists of a metal hoop with a handle; through the hoop are passed several rods of metal, and little bells are suspended from the rods. Just before the Christian era the worship of Isis, which had grown into a barbaric revel, was carried to Rome, where its impure practices commended it.

The marimba of Africa, with its bars of wood laid across other pieces of wood, or suspended over gourd resonators, is primitive man's idea of the modern xylophone. The xylophone figures in the writings of Virdung (1511), and attains an unmerited prominence in an illustrated Anglo-Saxon psalter of the Eleventh Century, where it appears hanging with the harps upon the Babylonian willows. This tuning of bars of wood appears in many countries, one instance being the Japanese mokkine. The tekkin, also of Japan, bears a great similarity to the glockenspiel, in which bars of metal are substituted for those of wood.

Bars of metal are struck, and metallic strips are plucked or bowed, to create musical vibrations. The nanze of the African is a representative of the plucked type. The instinct for the crude constructing of this instrument appears to be inherent in the African; wherever he may be, if by any possibility he can secure the necessary materials, he will combine them. Very similar, but of wholly individual origin, is the European nail violin, an invention of the Eighteenth Century. It belongs to the bowed category, and is the development of an idea suggested by the passing of the violin bow against a nail. The jew's-harp, with its metal reed, also belongs to this division.

Glass has been employed as a music-producing sub-stance. That the glass harmonica originated at the dinner table in wine glasses varyingly filled, which were found to produce the tones of the scale, is an explanation that is generally accepted. The instrument has been developed by Pockrich, Franklin and others, until the keyed harmonica is the result. This unusual agent in the production of music has a primitive relative. The natives of New Ire-land in the Bismarck Archipelago have an instrument called kulepa-ganez, in which highly polished wood is employed instead of glass, and a scale of four notes is obtainable from four pieces of wood, which are rubbed in much the same manner as are the glasses of the harmonica.

The fundamentals of sonorous substances are accompanied by inharmonious instead of harmonious partials which cause the discordant character of the tones produced. Their pitch and character cannot be exactly calculated, for in sonorous substances, unlike strings and columns of air, experiment does not carry out theory. Vibrating membranes are similar in this respect. With one exception, the pitch of musical tones produced by them can not be deter-mined. The exception is in the orchestral kettle drum, in which the tension of the skin head can be changed by means of screws in the edge. The membranes in drum form may be arranged in three classes - 1. There may be, as in the drum of the Egyptians and in the present tambourine, a single skin stretched over a frame open at the end. 2. The single skin may be stretched upon the top of a frame, or shell closed at the bottom, as in the hand drums of the east, or in the kettle drums of the orchestra. 3. There may be two heads of skin covering each end of a cylinder, the side drum being a modern example.

The primitive drum is often a ghastly thing, with its shell a skull, frequently human, with the crown cut off and a membrane stretched over the opening. In many instances skulls form a decoration, the African savages having processional drums of great proportions, embellished with perhaps twenty skulls. The method of tightening skin drum-heads with cords, as is done in the bass and side drums of the orchestra, is of primitive origin. Africans and similar races have made use of the idea. The same endless cord is employed, but instead of the leather braces used in increasing their tension, another cord is interlaced through the first.

The drums of the Assyrians, as they are depicted in the bas-reliefs, were miniature as compared with the large ones of the Chinese. The nomadic habits of the Assyrians are held accountable for this peculiarity, which is manifest in all their instruments when considered with those of the Egyptians. This theory may be accepted in regard to the instruments of other Asiatic nations. Among their instruments are found • numberless hand drums. Strapped to the body of the performer such an instrument is beaten with the fingers and hands. They carry in their outlines the suggestion of converted water jars or gourds. They frequently occur in pairs, and are known as daraboukkeh. Placed upon the necks of camels or horses, they may lead the army into battle, inspiring the warriors and sounding forth orders, much as do the bugles of the West. The drums used in the present cavalry are of this description. They are miniature kettle drums, each strapped to a horse's side.

In India occurs a peculiar drum, which is placed upon the forehead and beaten with the hands. The tambourine, which might be denominated a half drum, is related to the Asiatic hand drum in that it is struck with the fingers. Its noise-making proclivities are aided by the metal discs in the sides, which figure frequently in eastern time markers. The tambourine was known to the Egyptians, and is favored in the Orient.

A unique form in which the vibrating membranes appear is in the onion and zobo flutes. The paper-covered comb is a primary example of this type, and the onion flute, or flute eunuque, is the oldest European specimen. The name is derived from the piece of onion skin which originally covered one end of the bore, and has since been replaced with a membrane. The performer hummed into a hole in the side of the pipe, causing the membrane to vibrate. The zobo and the French mirliton are later forms. India possesses some throat trumpets called nyastaranga, having within the tube a piece of membrane that is caused to vibrate by placing the tube against the vocal chords while the performer hums an air; the sound is thus increased, illustrating the transmission of inaudible vibrations to a very elastic substance, capable of increasing their strength, and reproducing them as audible vibrations.

The Spanish pan bomba embodies another peculiar method. A jar is covered with a membrane, through which pass one or more sticks that are rubbed between the palms of the hands, causing the membrane to produce sound vibrations.

Theory is more correct regarding columns of air, and the makers of instruments have given the air column various forms of resonators, and numerous methods of causing it to vibrate have been employed, until the wind instruments possess voices of various qualities.

The fundamental principle of the flute is the splitting of an air column to produce sound vibrations. The current of air proceeding from the player's lips, or directed by mechanical means, after splitting upon the sharp edge of the tube, vibrates, and in turn sets in vibration the column of air within the tube. The material from which the tube is made has no effect whatever upon the tone produced. The longer the tube, the lower will be the pitch, for the vibrations are longer and consequently fewer. The pitch is made higher by overblowing, that is, increasing the force with which the air is directed against the mouthpiece. The more forcefully that is done the more rapidly will disturbances occur in the column of air, producing a higher tone. The player must rely upon his ear in gauging the force necessary for producing the partials, as the tones due to overblowing are called.

Intermediate tones, or those which cannot be produced by overblowing, are made possible by holes in the side of the pipe. These holes cannot be as large as the opening in the end of the tube. If this were the case and they were uncovered, the length of the tube would be reduced to the length between the top and the highest uncovered hole. The pitch of a flute will be higher as the distance from the mouthpiece to the side hole that is uncovered is lessened, and the larger the hole is, the higher will be the pitch. Hence, if the position of a hole be altered, the pitch will remain the same if the size be altered likewise. Prior to the discovery that the pitch of tones could be governed by holes in the sides of a tube, a series of pipes of different lengths were fastened together and blown into successively, after the manner of pan pipes. The reed or bone pipe in its most simple form was cylindrical of bore, and was open at both ends.

The flute of the Malay is sounded by a current of air from the nose. This unlovely practice has for its recommendation the fact that the current of air directed from the nose is at the natural angle for the production of successful results in flute playing.

The method of producing sound vibrations by directing the column of air against the edge of an end of a pipe was unnecessarily difficult, and by a mechanical contrivance termed a fipple flute, the lips of the performer were imitated. A plug was inserted in the upper end of the pipe, and contained a single slit, so placed as to direct the breath in a flat form against the thin edge of an opening in the side of the instrument; this mouthpiece could be directly inserted in the performer's mouth, or was covered with a hollow cap, sometimes containing a sponge for gathering the moisture from the breath. It was used with a pipe of inverted conical bore, and was found in the flute douce, the flute à bec, or recorder, and the flageolet, during a period extending from about the Fifteenth Century to the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. Another defect in the older instruments was the difficulty in reaching all of the finger-holes. This was due to the length of the pipe and the insufficient number of metal coverings for the side holes. These coverings, or keys, were capable of being raised and lowered by means of levers extending within the reach of the fingers.

The discovery of the transverse principle was claimed by the Greeks for a youthful flautist who was striving for a prize at a contest, when the end of his pipe became stopped. Fired with ambition, he turned his instrument, and finished the selection by holding the flute transversely and blowing through a side hole. The judges were so delighted with his ingenuity that they awarded him the prize. However, this method has been in use in the East since before history. Doubtless the Saracens carried the knowledge to the West, and it has been found depicted in a painting on the wall of a cathedral in Kieff, southern Russia. The painting is supposed to date from the Eleventh Century. The transverse principle came into prominence in Germany during the latter part of the Seventeenth Century. The fife and the piccolo are representatives of this family, at the head of which stands what is known as the German flute. In its early existence this was furnished with a conical bore, and the improvement resulting from the use of the transverse principle could not be appreciated until the cylindrical bore was adopted, the imperfect recorders rivaling the flute in popularity up to the time the change was made. The instrument possessed but few keys, until in 1832 Theobald Boehm perfected the instrument, and it assumed the form in which it appears in the present orchestra. With the change from the conical to the cylindrical bore the tone has become more mellow, and there has been added a mechanical device of rings and levers, by which the performer can more readily operate the keys. The Boehm flute, of all the wind instruments in the orchestra, has the greatest versatility and the longest range.

The flute has figured in the history of all times. The Egyptians were very proficient in the art of playing it, and at Alexandria there existed a school which the Greek flautists attended. The flute was used among the ancients more as a solo instrument than was the harp or lyre, which served in accompanying the voice. Players made use of a bandage which held the instrument more firmly in the mouth, and a veil was worn to hide the distortions of the face caused by blowing. Ptolemy Auletes, the father of Cleopatra, gained his name because of his liking for the flute and for flute playing. He even adopted the bandage and veil of the lowly professional flautist. Cleopatra took a similar delight in the music of flutes, and as she floated on the waters of the Nile, the oars of her galley kept time to their sensuous tones. The instrument, indeed, grew to be associated with licentious things, until Plato admonished pure persons against its use. This prejudice existed until several centuries after the beginning of the Christian era. St. Clement of Alexandria, about the year 100 A. D., wrote, " We will adopt one instrument only, the Word of Peace, by which we adore God, not the ancient psaltery, drums, trumpets, and flutes; " and St. Jerome (340-420) declared that a Christian maiden should not know what a flute or a lyre was, much less its use. At a more recent date the Puritans considered the music of recorders antagonistic to Christianity, and its sound would cause them to fall on their knees in prayer. The Greeks brought the flute into great prominence; their statesmen and princes were instructed in its use as a part of their necessary education, and it figured in the Pythian and Olympian games.

The Japanese refer to their flute as the bird from heaven. It is almost a sacred object to them, and they tenderly patch the instruments that have been in use for centuries. These are of workmanship and material far superior to the modern ones, for now common carpenters, both in Japan and India, attempt their construction, and unsuitable wood is bored and hollowed without musical design. The Chinese, prompted by their desire for exactness in pitch, have endeavored to overcome the tendency of wood to expand and contract from atmospheric changes, by making their flutes of marble.

The term wood-wind has been used to differentiate certain wind instruments in the orchestra from those popularly known as the brasses, and is due to the fact that the instruments so named were at one time made of wood, differing only in the kind of reeds which set the column of air in vibration. In the clarinet and kindred instruments a single-beating reed is set in motion by the current of air from the lips of the player. This reed is a thin strip of elastic material, which is placed at the opening of a tube, almost closing the aperture. When a current of air is directed toward it, the reed pulsates, periodically closing the aperture, and the motion causes the column of air within the tube to vibrate. The principle has been known and applied generally since the earliest time.

The tones in the instruments containing either single or double-beating reeds are regulated by the length of the tube, as in the flute, and by the speed at which the reed vibrates. Furthermore, the reeds vary in size with the size and pitch of the instruments. In the deep-voiced bassoon, the double reeds are much larger than those in the oboe.

Among European peasantry, there exists a knowledge of the art of constructing beating reed pipes of great simplicity. As he cares for his flocks, the shepherd makes for himself a reed pipe, as shepherds have done for ages before him. Specimens made of plaited straw, and fitted with a reed of straw stalk, are found in use at rural festivities, quite as they have figured for centuries in picture, romance and song. It is a theory that many of the Egyptian and Grecian pipes were furnished with reed mouthpieces. The Greek word aulos, translated as flute, is considered to also refer to reed instruments. As an argument for the more comprehensive translation of the word, use is made of the story of the beautiful and fastidious Greek, Alcibiades, who was so filled with disgust when he chanced to catch a reflection of the distortions of his countenance while playing his beloved aulos, that he threw away the instrument, and thereafter played upon the lyre instead. His injured vanity was rather disastrous to the popularity of the flute, for Alcibiades was a fashion leader among the Greeks. In mythology a similar story is told of Athene or Minerva, who saw her reflection in a pool, and was caused to cast away her flute. The effort necessary in playing a flute does not create especially unpleasant contortions of the face, although such is the case in playing reed instruments, and the researcher grasps this as one proof of the correctness of the new theory.

The pair of reed pipes found in Egypt with the Lady Maket in her mummy case, has been given the name mam, and although the ones in question were without a mouth-piece, the mam is considered as the immediate ancestor of the Egyptian zummarah and the Arabian arghoul, double pipes played with a single-beating reed mouthpiece. An equally primitive form of the single-beating reed pipe is the European pibgorn or hornpipe. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a copy of an early specimen, which is made of the shin bone of a deer, and has a piece of ox-horn at either end. Within the horn at the upper end is a beating reed of straw stalk.

The derivation of the name of the chalumeau, an instrument existing during and succeeding the Middle Ages, can be traced from the Latin calamus, meaning a reed. The instrument had a long life, and found a place in the orchestra for many years. Gluck, in the Eighteenth Century, was the last composer to employ it. In the National Museum at Munich, and copied for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the instrument considered to be the first attempt of Johann Christopher Denner to apply keys to the chalumeau in the evolution of the clarinet. The instrument bears his name as maker, and is dated in the Seventeenth Century.

The clarinet itself has undergone development, one stage being the attempt of Papaline, about 1813, to reduce the length of the bass clarinet by giving it a serpentine bore. The length of his instrument was a little over two feet, about a third of that of the ordinary bass instrument. Its curved bore made it capable of giving the low C. The basset horn, the tenor of the clarinet family, has been a prominent member of the single-beating reed class, but is declining in use. although Mozart's and Mendelssohn's appreciation of its beautiful tone is shown by its frequent appearance in their scores.

Sax, with extreme ingenuity, produced the saxophone in 1840. Although classed with the clarinet, the fingering is that of the- oboe, and the tube is of brass and conical, the last trait being individual. The instrument, useful in military music, is not looked upon with favor by composers for the orchestra.

The ancient Egyptians left no trace of a knowledge of the double-beating reed, but the Chinese claim its use for thousands of years. It is composed of strips of elastic material fastened to a brass tube or staple attached to a tube, a prominent modern exponent of this principle being the oboe. These strips are fastened together at one end, but stand apart at the other, and the breath from the performer's lips tends to cause them to vibrate in such a manner that the free ends beat together and communicate their vibrations to the column of air within the tube.

Unlike the single reed, the double reed is found more often in use with a tube of conical bore than with one of cylindrical. The cylindrical bore, however, appears in the Chinese kwan tzu and in the Japanese hitschi-riki. The aulos of the Greeks and the tibia of the Romans, are of this description, as were the krumhorns of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. The cervelas or sausage bassoon gained its name from the manner in which its cylindrical tube was coiled in nine or more short, parallel lengths, with an outer covering.

The zourna and zamr, found in Persia, Turkey, modern Egypt and northern Africa, are to be considered as the earliest specimens of the conical tube fitted with a double-beating reed. The pommer family, including the shawms and bombards, are the mediaeval transitional instruments. The pommer, with its long, straight tube, bringing the lower finger-holes out of the player's reach, was somewhat improved about the end of the Sixteenth Century by having the tube bent upon itself several times. This new arrangement, which bore a slight resemblance to a bundle of fagots or sticks, promptly gained the name of fagotto. This has clung to it in the German and in the Italian, even though the bassoon, or bass fagotto, is the only instrument with bent tube now in use. The oboe, whose French name, hautbois, means high wooden pipe, is the improved treble shawm, and is prominent in the orchestra, as is its larger brother, the cor Anglais, a development of the alto pommer, and the oboe increased by half, which causes its pitch to be a fifth lower. The bassoon is in reality another member of the oboe family, being treated in orchestral selections as its bass and contrabass.

As the metal saxophone finds a place among the wood-winds with single-beating reeds, the sarrusophone, with its metal tube, has a place among the wood-winds with double-beating reeds. This was invented in 1856 by M. Sarrus, a bandmaster in the French army, and has the conical bore and the mouthpiece of the oboe family, although — another parallel with the saxophone — it is not accepted to any extent by orchestral composers, having for its most important duty the carrying of the part of the stringed basses in military bands.

The clarinet and oboe have not been altered in any marked degree during the past fifty years, as any mechanical change has a tendency to make the tone inferior. Although the varieties have not changed, what is referred to as the wood-winds of the orchestra have been improved in the degree of quality, until those of today are hardly recognizable as followers of those two hundred years ago.

The free reed does not appear in the orchestra except when the organ is used. It has been in general use but a little more than a century. Before the latter part of the Eighteenth Century its use was exclusively Asiatic. Instruments in which a group of pipes of different lengths fitted with free reeds are furnished with a common mouthpiece, are found in China, Japan, Burmah, Siam and Borneo. In fact, it is said that the Chinese cheng, one of this group, afforded the suggestion which the organ-builder Kratzenstein, of St. Petersburg, in the Eighteenth Century carried out in the reed organ.

A free reed is a thin metallic tongue fastened in a frame by one end in such a manner that, when caused to vibrate, the free end will neither come in contact with the frame, nor with the fixed end of the reed. A peculiarity of this reed is that it can produce sound vibrations without being fitted within a tube or resonator.

The principle is found applied in the mouth harmonica, the concertina and the accordion. With the application of the keyboard, the harmonium, the melodeon and the reed organ came into existence. These instruments have attained the greatest prominence of any in which the free reed is used, although a few of the pipes of the pipe organ are fitted with them. Indeed, this reed has not achieved great importance musically, and doubtless never will. With the few exceptions mentioned the instruments in which this principle has been employed may be classed as toys.

Ribbon reeds, which are found in the horns of the Alaskan Indians, and in children's toys, may be mentioned as of small importance. Although fixed in a frame at either end, this reed possesses sufficient elasticity to allow vibrations. The principle is known to every boy who lives where grass grows, and is made use of when he plucks a blade of grass and blows upon it as he holds it between his thumbs.

Next in importance to the wood-winds in the orchestra, and forming an indispensable element, are the cup mouth-piece instruments. Their tones are extremely martial, and unless carefully restricted, will overpower the other more delicate voices. Their evolution from the conch-shell and animal horn of primitive man has been established. Although they have their place in the orchestra, their peculiarities cause them to figure with greater prominence in the military band, their presence leading to its popular name of brass band. The material from which these instruments may be made is by no means limited to brass. Wood, ivory, porcelain, and various metals have been used successfully. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art are displayed a family of sax horns made exclusively from wood, and their speaking voice differs but slightly from that of the brass instruments. The tone of members of this division is affected by difference in bore. In the cornets and horns the bore is conical, in the cornet wide as compared with its length, and in the horns narrow. The consequence is, that the voice of the cornet has a tendency to coarseness, while in the horn the quality is finer. The trumpet and trombone have tubes that are cylindrical, except for the short conical bell, which peculiarity adds brilliancy to their tone. The individual timbre or quality is governed by the size and shape of the mouthpiece ; that of the trumpet is hemispherical and shallow, that of the cornet is deeper, and that of the horn is a tapering cone. The size of the mouthpiece also affects the limits of the cone. The size of the mouthpiece also affects the limits of the compass, which can be increased if the mouthpiece is large enough for the player to change the position of his lips. In the tuba, the valves tend to detract from the correctness of pitch, but the lips are held loosely against the mouthpiece, making it easy to change, and remedy any defect that might otherwise be perceptible.

The simple horn used by the savage in signaling can easily be imagined at the lips of the rugged hunters of an early period. It has as a type in modern use the shophar of the Jewish synagogue. This is the horn of a ram straightened during the application of extreme heat; it is capable of but a few tones, which have been arranged in certain series that are called for in the ritual. To remedy its imperfect natural scale, the simple horn has been fitted with side holes, slides, and valves. The side holes have not proved successful, but the slides and valves are still in use. The principle of the slide is one that has been employed since the time of the ancient Romans, and its discovery is attributed to Tyrtaeus, 685 B. C. The slide trombone, its modern embodiment, is merely a sackbut improved and renamed. The sackbut flourished in mediaeval times, and the name can be traced to a Spanish foundation, aptly referring to a pump. (See sackbut.) The trombone is bent into three parallel lengths. One length is doubled in such a manner that the outer section may slide over the inner, and give additional length when the lower tones are desired. The action is free, and except in the lowest octave, very minute degrees of change in pitch can be regulated by a musician with a true ear.

The flutes of Egypt and Assyria attest the early use of side holes in gaining harmonics, and the natural tendency was to apply them to the cup mouthpiece instruments. The ancient zinken were extensively used during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries; these were generally straight horns having a conical bore, and fitted with finger-holes. The extension of the limits of musical interpretation led to the addition of holes, until the number was too great to allow the player to quickly change his fingers from the upper ones to those lower on the instrument. Side holes that cannot be reached, and notes which cannot be produced, are worthless. Edme Guillaume, a canon of Auxerre in France, near the end of the Sixteenth Century introduced the serpent as a temporary remedy. Two sections of wood' were carved into serpentine outline, the bore remaining conical, regard-less of the outer curves. The sections were glued together, and were often covered with leather, which better held them in place, and the, curves brought the lower finger-holes within reach of the performer. The size of some of the holes was too great for one finger to cover entirely, and keys were introduced for covering a few of them, the keys having long handles, which brought the holes more completely under the control of the performer.

In 1820, Streitwolf, of Göttingen, invented a bass horn in which the serpentine outline had given way to one that was conical, and the tube of wood or brass was bent upon itself, and was furnished with from nine to eleven finger-holes fitted with keys. With the Nineteenth Century came the ophicleide, which enjoyed orchestral favor for about fifty years, but is now entirely out of use. It was a brass instrument of broad conical bore, with its tube bent upon itself, and furnished with keys similar in number to those of the bass horn. Owing to the unpleasant qualities of its voice, which did not blend well with those of the other members of the orchestra, it was gradually superseded by the tubas. Even before Streitwolf, keys had been applied to the bugle by Joseph Halliday, in 1810. This keyed, or Kent bugle, as it was called in honor of the Duke of Kent, has given way before the instrument furnished with valves.

In the hand horn is found a principle that is surprising in its simplicity. It was discovered by accident by Hampel, of Dresden. Until the Eighteenth Century the horn had been excluded from the orchestra, and its adoption there was loudly decried, The change from a blatant instrument of the chase to a fitting member of that soft-toned organization was indeed great. It was necessary to soften the tone, and the mute or pad, which had been in use in softening the tone of the oboe, suggested itself for use with the horn, and Hampel, in using one of felt, found that his tones were flattened or lowered a semitone; he substituted his hand, which could be moved more easily, and supplied the inter-mediate tones by placing the hand across and within the bell of the instrument. The composers of the beginning of the Eighteenth Century wrote for the hand horn, and many players use this method even now when interpreting these works.

Valves, inventions of the Nineteenth Century, are additional lengths of tubing, which can be connected with the original tube when it is to be extended for the production of tones of lower pitch. In reality, they have three functions; they serve in producing the notes necessary for a complete scale, they are used in transposing the key, and they rectify any falsity in the notes or any imperfection in the timbre. They appear in groups of three in nearly all the cup mouthpiece instruments ; the first lowers the pitch a tone, the second a semitone, and the third a tone and one-half. By their use, in a variety of combinations, all the tones necessary for the completion of the chromatic scale may be obtained. Some of the barytone, bass, and contra-bass instruments have valves enough to lower the pitch two and one-half tones. The cornet, which originally was furnished with but two valves, now has six in exceptional instances.

The piston valve is popular in France, England and the United States. It is more simple than other varieties, and therefore is more successful. The path to the extra tubing is opened by depressing a cylindrical piston, which works within an outer case ; the piston rod is pierced with wind-ways or holes which allow the performer to govern the amount of air to be admitted for use in the production of tones. This was invented in 1815 by a German named Blumel, and Stolzel, Shaw and the Sax family have aided in its development. A valve having a short stroke is called a pump-valve, and dates from 1830; the double-piston valve, invented by Shaw in 1824, enjoys minor prominence; a valve with rectangular parts is termed a box valve, and there are early specimens of instruments fitted in this manner, although Hall, of Boston, has been falsely credited with originating it in 1875.

Austria, Italy and Germany favor the rotary valve introduced by Blumel in 1827. A four-way stop-cock turns in a cylindrical case; two of the four ways connect with the main channel, and as it rotates through a quarter circle, the other two openings admit air to the extra tubing. The disc-valve was of such complicated mechanism that it could not long remain in practical use. The extra tubing was attached to a metal disc, which, by revolving a quarter turn upon another disc, was connected with the original tube; the difficulty in keeping the disc air tight was one of the reasons for its disuse.

In some instances there is found on the slide trombone a small valve to be used in producing a half-tone trill. Crooks are used in changing the key of many of the cup mouthpieces. They are movable pieces of tubing, which, when inserted in the original tube, lower the pitch. The cornet, which naturally plays in the key of B flat, is furnished with crooks capable of lowering the key to A, A flat, or G.

The stringed instruments are considered the foundation of the orchestra. Not only is their importance apparent in that capacity, but they find much favor for use in the home, as they are exceptionally adapted to accompany the voice.

Plucking is the most simple method of causing strings to produce sound vibrations. They may be plucked with the fingers as in the harp, with a plectrum as in the mandolin, or with the tsume as in the Japanese koto. The plectrum may be a stick of bamboo or a piece of wood, metal, ivory, or quill, and the tsume are pointed bits of metal or ivory, which slip over the fingers in the manner of a thimble. A like contrivance has been more recently applied to the American banjo, and the ring employed in playing the zither is similar in principle.

The theory of the conversion of the hunting bow into a musical instrument has been discussed. The naturally weak tone of this single-stringed instrument has been increased by various methods. One savage is found twanging the string with his fingers, or with an arrow, and holding the end of the bow between his teeth ; another has attached to one end of his bow a gourd or shell acting as a resonator. The resonators, or sound boxes, of modern plucked instruments divide them into three classes. 1. The strings of the harp rise vertically from the sound box, and are entirely open; that is, they are backed by no resonator. 2. In the psaltery family, the sound box is indeed a box ; it has length, breadth and depth, and may have three or more corners. The strings pass along the upper surface, and are backed with a resonator throughout their entire length. 3. The strings of the norfe and lute families pass over a hollow sound box, and thence along a neck appearing in a diversity of lengths, at the upper end of which are inserted pegs, around which the strings are fastened. The pari: of the neck through which they pass is called the peg box, and by turning the pegs the strings can be shortened or lengthened and the pitch regulated, which function gives them the name of tuning pegs. As the holes wear too large they are filled, and new ones bored.

The process of development from the instrument used by the first player on strings, into the harp and the lute as they are found in the hands of the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians, can only be conjectured, but judging from the degree of perfection that has since been attained, it was long and devious. Gradually primitive man learned that strings of different lengths gave different tones ; that one string, whose vibrating length could be shortened at various intervals, gave a rising series of tones, obviating the necessity of so many strings; they also learned many facts concerning the properties of sound boards.

The harp is found in a surprising state of perfection among the ancients. Its most evident fault was the absence of a front pillar or support, as owing to this deficiency the strings could not be stretched to any great degree of tension, and the tone of the instrument undoubtedly weakened. The triangular outline of the present orchestral harp has prevailed throughout all ages and nations. A less favored form is the boat shape as seen in the soung of Burma. This type has had representatives during all periods, but it is graceful and picturesque at the expense of practicability. The buni or harp of ancient Egypt, with its weak voice, bears but little resemblance to the clear-toned harp of the orchestra of today. Paintings dating from the Thirteenth Century B. C. have been discovered at the entrance to a tomb at Thebes, which depict two priests, one at each side of the portal, playing upon harps. These instruments are taller than the players, and rest upon the upward curving sound boxes, and are highly carved and decorated, the players handling their strings after a method similar to that now employed. Seventy-five years ago, when Egypt was cloaked in far greater mystery than now, and these paintings had still successfully defied the archaeologist, the origin of the harp was ascribed to the Arpi, a people of Italy, among whom it was very popular; this supposition has now been set aside, but the theory that the name now in use came from these people is of easy acceptance.

The harp was ever prominent in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and the Celts claim its invention. How it came to find its secure place in the hearts and lives of these people is not to be explained, but the fact remains that it has ever been associated with their history. The Scotch harpers enjoyed a prominence almost as great as did the pipers. In Ireland the harp was found in the hands of the monarchs, the warriors and the bards, and according to the ancient Welsh triad :

Three men are of the same regard:
A king, a harper and a bard.

An instrument said to have belonged to Brian Boru, a poet king who reigned about 1000 A. D., is in the museum of Trinity College, and a faithful copy has been made for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later researchers attribute this instrument to the King of Thomond, who lived over two hundred years later. There is such a wealth of story founded on Brian's valor and his music, that it seems well-nigh contemptible to rule out this charming bit of evidence. The romantic Irish held their harpers in high esteem ; it was the music of the harps that led them into battle, and in time of conflict a truly inspired harper was considered of more value than was a warrior, and there are in existence wonderful tales of the bravery inspired by their music. The harp has also been a favorite among their multitude of fairies, who richly endowed certain of the musicians.

The lyre is allied to the harp ; its strings are similarly open, but are more limited in number. The kissar, in which the African savage delights, bears a most striking resemblance in outline to the elegant lyre of the Greeks. In modern times innovations are so readily accepted that the following extract from the writings of Athenmus regarding attempted changes in the lyre is hard to understand : " Whereas, Timotheus, the musician, coming to our city, has deformed the majesty of our ancient music, and despising the lyre of seven strings, has by the introduction of a multiplicity of notes corrupted the ears of our youth, and by the number of his strings, and the strangeness of his melody, has given to our music an effeminate and artificial dress, instead of the plain and orderly one in which it has hitherto appeared. . . . The Kings and the Ephori have therefore resolved to pass censure upon Timotheus for these things, and further to oblige him to cut off all the superfluous strings of his eleven, and to banish him from our dominion, that men may be warned for the future not to introduce into Sparta any unbecoming customs." (Athenaeus lib. iv.)

The members of the lute family are direct descendants of the hunting bow with the gourd resonator. This type has appeared more frequently than any other with plucked strings. In the Orient it has many forms. The rounded outline of the pear-shaped sound box of the lute is merely the outcome of artistic invention. A small cylindrical body placed at the end of a long neck, and a box-like frame covered with skin, are the successors of the gourd. The bodies of other instruments belonging to this family are oval, with flat backs, as in the English zither, and later in the guitar, in the yueh-ch'in of China, and in the guenbri of Arabia and Syria. The banjo is apparently of this family, but in reality it is an individual type, being a product of comparatively modern invention, and not the result of development.

The lute as a lute is very old. In Europe it has a history of extreme length, and composers wrote for it at almost as early a date as they did for the pipe organ. It was popular for several centuries as a household instrument, but a change in its capacities was necessitated as music progressed and composers became more ambitious, leading to an increase in the range of practicable notes. When, in the Sixteenth Century, a group of Italians stumbled into the invention of the opera, it was found that in the musical forms thus created, the voices could not be supported properly by the lute's meager music. Longer bass strings were needed, and the neck was elongated, while a second peg box was added farther up the neck, making possible louder tones. From this enlarged lute three distinct instruments were developed, the archlute, the theorbo, and the chitarrone. The lute in its new form appeared in sizes suitable for the accompaniment of the different voices, and as these became permanent, or were introduced into new lands, they received new names. The mandora was very large, having a length of three feet or more, the pandore smaller by about one-third, and the pandurina the smallest of the three. In Spanish-American countries, particularly Mexico, many of these forms are retained in popular favor. The lute in its more perfected forms possessed a large number of strings, tuned by a complicated method, and the playing was extremely difficult. The tuning could be properly accomplished only by those who had much experience. The oval body with a flat back has descended from the Oriental instruments through the English cither to the guitar, and a triangular outline appears in a number of instances, among them the Bulgarian tanbourica and the Russian balalaika.

The psaltery is another long-lived instrument. A modern form is the German zither, which is provided with frets, and is as highly developed as is possible for this type. More strings and other additions have only served to pro-duce an instrument too large for ease in playing. The kantele of Finland is a psaltery raised to the prominence of a national instrument. The sound box in a vertical position appears in the spitzharfe, designed for duet use.

The voice of the lute family did not fulfil the ideals of the chamber musicians and their hearers. The churchly pipe organ, with its resounding voice, had appeared in smaller forms as chamber, positive, and portative organs. These instruments, however, were incapable of producing the lighter, sprightly music of the lute. As musical progress made itself felt, and the ears of the world required for their edification lustier music, an ingenious mind attached a key-board to the psaltery, and arranged a mechanism by which the key lever sent a plectrum of metal, leather, or quill. against the string. The mechanism rendered possible strings of such increased weight and number as could not have been played with the fingers or with a plectrum. This invention appears in many paintings previous to the Fifteenth Century, and every collection of musical instruments contains a numerous assemblage of spinets or virginals, as they were interchangeably called. The instrument was called a clavicytherium when the strings and sounding board were vertical, having the keyboard at the bottom, and when it was placed on a standard for playing.

With the addition of more strings, and the use of a more complicated mechanism, the harpsichord appears. However, even with these additions, the tone was inadequate. The harpsichord did not have powers of expression, and after a short struggle with the pianoforte in the first century after Christofori introduced his instrument to the world, it went out of existence, except as a curiosity.

The dulcimer may be described as a psaltery whose strings are set in vibration by being struck with hammers. The principle of the dulcimer has been applied to many instruments in the East and West, these instruments having attained an especially great popularity in the Orient. The sound box generally has four or more angles, but the khudra katyayana-vina of India has a circular body, with a short neck. This circular tendency is evident in the majority of Hindu instruments, and may perhaps be accounted for by the primary use of gourds as resonators in all stringed instruments. The dulcimer of the West has become associated with the people of Hungary, and is prominent in the Hungarian orchestras, the tone of the instrument being clear and bright. Pentaleon Hebenstreit, in 1705, made a number of ingenious changes in the instrument of his native land ; he added strings, and covered the hammers with such materials that the tone they produced was capable of many modulations. He carried it to the court of Louis XIV., and created such a furore that the king named it pantaleon. The dulcimer and its improved form are looked upon as the prototypes of the piano.

Before the days of the pianoforte, there existed the clavichord and the cembal d'amore. The ancestry of the clavichord can be traced to the monochord of Pythagoras, the Greek mathematician who lived nearly six hundred years before Christ. By means of movable bridges, Pythagoras divided the strings of his monochord into lengths capable of giving the intervals of the Greek diatonic scale. The monochord came down through the ages, and for centuries served in Europe to give the pitch to the voices of the church singers.

During the Fourteenth Century there came into existence an instrument which later acquired the name of clavichord. For a period the contradictory name of monochord was assigned to it, although it was more correctly a collection of monochords placed within a case, to which was attached a keyboard. The exact date of the invention is not to be learned, and the double use of the name of the older instrument has produced a tangle that cannot be unraveled. The bridges of the monochord appeared in the clavichord as wedge-shaped pieces of brass called tangents ; they were sent by key levers against the strings from below, and served two purposes, in that they divided the strings into vibrating lengths, and set them in vibration. Like the spinet and the harpsichord, the clavichord lacked strength of voice, but unlike the plucked instruments, it possessed powers of expression to a degree attained by no preceding or ensuing kindred instrument. Its possibilities in this direction brought forth the highest laudations from composers and artists during the centuries in which it: flourished. It was the favorite of Handel, and the constant companion of Bach in his study, where he used it while composing.

The harpsichord, with its slightly stronger voice, for a time attained a prominence over the clavichord, but its lack of expression allowed it only a comparatively short period of popularity. The action of the clavichord was so susceptible to the touch that, after the key lever had been lowered, a slight increase or decrease in the power of depression was followed by a similar change in the tone. In the beginning of the Eighteenth Century Gottfried Silbermann revived the principle of the clavichord in the cembal d'amore, which was in reality a clavichord doubled as to size and as to vibrating length of the strings.

The search for an action capable of producing either soft or loud music continued until about 1710, when Christofori profited by the experience of his predecessors, and produced what he named " gravicembalo col piano e forte," in other words, a keyboard instrument capable of soft and loud effects. The action was weak and mechanically crude, but the theory was correct, and Christofori's action has been the groundwork of all later makers. Scipione Maffei, in the " Giornale dei Litterati d' Italia " (1711), announces the invention. It had been considered impossible to attain the two effects successfully, and Maffei says : " Signor Bartholemeo Christofoli, of Padua, harpsichord player of the Most Serene Prince of Tuscany, has already made three harpsichords in which the production of more or less sound depends upon the force the player uses in striking upon the keys. Instead of jacks that produce sounds by quills, there is a little row of hammers that strike the string from below, the tops of which are covered with leather. Every hammer has the end inserted in a circular butt, that renders it movable. These butts are partially embedded and strung together in a receiver. Near the butt and under the stem of the hammer there is a projecting part, or support, that. receiving the blow from beneath, raises the hammer and causes it to strike the string with whatever degree of force is given by the hand of the performer, hence the sound produced can be greater or less, at the pleasure of the player."

Christofori's claim to the invention has been established beyond all doubt, although attempts to usurp the honor were made by the Frenchman Marius and the German Schröter. However, neither produced his invention until several years after Christofori had introduced his. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art there is one of the two existing Christofori pianofortes.. It was purchased in 1895 from a Florentine family who had acquired it about 1820 at a public auction of ostensibly worthless articles from the Ducal Palace in Siena. It was retained by the family because of private associations until, in 1872, the discovery of its historical value was made. In the shape of its case it resembles a small grand piano, but it is without the pedals, which first appeared in the pianoforte made by Zumpe in 1783.

Next to the pianoforte, the violin finds favor as an instrument of music in the home. It suffers greatly in the hands of inexperienced players, who doubtless even by study could never learn its secrets. In the East it is played by the common people to a great extent, and someone has said that civilization has followed the fiddle, referring to its extensive use in furnishing music for frontier dances. The savage who rubbed his bowstring with a piece of rough bark, in order to produce sound vibrations, was the parent of the violin. The material used in producing vibrations in strings has been changed from time to time. A successor of the rough bark was the stick, with a serrated edge. This is the most primitive form of bow which presents itself for examination by the student of today. Despite its extreme crudity, it is still found in rural France in use with the bumbass.

The time and place of the introduction of horsehair cannot authentically be stated. The Hindus assert that King Ravanon, of Ceylon, 5000 years ago invented the ravanastron by discarding the notched stick and substituting in its stead a stick having horsehair stretched from end to end. The bow of the present ravanastron is formed from a piece of bamboo, pierced by a hole near one end. A mesh of hair is passed through, and secured with a knot, while another knot is placed in the opposite end of the mesh, which is drawn to the other extremity of the bamboo, and the knot fastened in a cleft. The strain of the hair gives the bamboo a natural outward curve. The first horsehair bow was doubtless of this description. As years passed the curve gradually grew less, until the bowstick during the Twelfth Century became nearly straight. Later it acquired the inward curve, which still exists. This curve renders possible a decided tension of the hair. At intervals attempts were made to improve the method of tightening the hair. About the Fourteenth Century two fingers were inserted between the hair and the stick. The Seventeenth Century bow was provided with ratchet points over which the hair could be hooked, and during the next century Corelli introduced the use of a screw to replace the ratchet points.

Tartini, 1740, made the bow longer and more elastic than previously, but Francois Tourte, a Frenchman (1747-1835), brought the bow to its present state of perfection white horsehairs stretched over a stick of Brazilian lance-wood or snake-wood curved inwardly. It was Tourte who decided the extent of the curve and the length of the bow, and contrived the method of pinching the horsehairs by a piece of wood in order to present a flat surface to the strings, in this way greatly increasing the volume of sound and the power of expression. The violin bow should be a little over twenty-nine inches in length, and the hairs should be twenty-six inches long. Formerly from eighty to one hundred hairs were considered necessary in constructing a perfect bow, but now the number varies from one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and fifty.

It is not hard to imagine the bowed ravanastron passing through Persia to Arabia, and thence to northern Africa. Here it fell into the hands of the Saracens, who, when they went to Spain, carried with them the rebab or rebec. However, the use of the bow is claimed with the rote, one of which instruments was found over the bones of a German knight of the Seventh Century. In outline the rote resembles the English crwth, another ancient instrument with which the bow is associated. Both bear evidence of descent from the lyre. Their strings are similarly open, and the sound boxes are similar in shape, but when the bow began to figure in their history is quite unknown.

Ancient manuscripts contain references to the rebec and the rote, and associate them with the gay minstrels dating from the Twelfth Century. In the hand of the minstrels the instrument developed, and it is found later transformed into a rude fiddle, whose strings were plucked, bowed, or even rubbed with a rosined wheel. The body of the early fiddle was pear-shaped, and at first possessed a rounded back, which later became flat. It appears in old paintings and engravings, and is an ungainly instrument, often held in a horizontal position with the neck upright.

The viols, with their many defects, appear as the next epoch in the progress. Their flat backs made necessary cumbersome cross pieces, which helped to withstand the strain of the strings, but rendered a clear tone impossible. The sides had very shallow inward curves, which would not allow the bow full play, but made ever present the danger of rubbing more than one string at a time, as the bow could not be held at an angle sufficient to prevent this without coming in contact with the edge of the belly. The necks were fretted, and the swift glides now made by the fingers of the violinist over the polished surface of the violin neck, were impossible. Furthermore, the number of frets never exceeded seven, as the knowledge of the art of shifting belongs to the method of the modern instruments.

The viols appeared in sets of four, and it was a poorly furnished household which was not provided with a chest of them, as the group was called from the receptacle in which they were kept while not in use. It contained an instrument corresponding in pitch to each of the voices, soprano, alto, tenor and bass. At a gathering of friends the chest was opened, and long winter evenings were whiled away with vocal music, each voice being supported by a corresponding viol, and if a voice chanced to be missing, the viol of that pitch carried its part of the harmony alone. Serious men of business and of the church, philosophers, scientists and educators, were proficient in the art, and found time to assist in the music performed by the little orchestra of family and friends.

An innovation of the Sixteenth Century which lasted until the Nineteenth Century, were the sympathetic strings found upon the violas d'amore. Under the gut strings, near the belly of the viols, and fastened by a tuning plate of its own, were stretched a number of thin wire strings tuned in unison with those of gut, and when the bow caused the heavier strings to vibrate, those of wire vibrated in sympathy, and added a peculiar softness to the tone, from which was derived the idea of the name. Viols of all sizes were furnished with the sympathetic strings, but the instruments were not practicable except for solo work, which is the reason for their short life.

The Sixteenth Century saw the coming of the violin. The story of Stradivarius and his masterpieces, that have never been excelled, resembles a fairy tale That to one man alone should be given the power to construct a perfect article is indeed marvelous. Gaspar da Sala, the Amatis, the Guarnieri, gradually improved the violin, and paved the way for the great workman.

Of all instruments, those of the violin tribe are the most difficult to master, owing to the widely different functions of the hands of the performer. Each hand must be equally skilful, and the violinist must give himself entirely to his performance. The right hand is occupied with the bow, while the fingers of the left hand determine the pitch of the tones by varying the length of the vibrating segments of the strings, pressing them against the finger board. Those members of the family now in use in the orchestra are the first and second violins, the viola, the violoncello, or cello, as it is popularly known, and the contra or double bass.

The English kit and the French pochette, miniature instruments used by dancing masters of the Eighteenth Century, were so small that they could be carried in coat pockets, and could be played by the teacher as he demonstrated the steps. The zither with plucked strings has been changed into the streich-zither, or philomele, by the use of a bow. The body resembles that of a violin, but the neck is fretted, the construction is crude, and the tone is but a sorry imitation of that of the violin.

The tromba marina has not been mentioned in this evolution, for it can hardly be considered as an ancestor of the violin ; it is rather to be looked upon as a descendant of the monochord of Pythagoras, to which the bow had been adapted. This monochord was diversely used by gentle nuns to accompany their hymns to the Virgin, and for many centuries in giving signals upon vessels.

The hurdy-gurdy, with its rosined wheel, provided later with a keyboard, was first used by the minstrels, and last by the Nineteenth Century street mendicants. Many of the handsome lutes were sacrificed in constructing the hurdy-gurdies, or vielles, as the French called them. The pear-shaped bodies were thought to impart especially pleasing qualities to the voices, owing to their powers of resonance. These instruments grew into an international prominence, and the traveler found them upon the street corners of Europe, England and America, and as a consequence the name has been incorrectly passed down to the street pianos of today. They are not of much importance musically, but possess romantic associations. Pepys, in his diary under the date of October 5, 1664, tells of an English invention belonging to the hurdy-gurdy family, which he had inspected on that day. As the scene of preparation is brought into view, the anecdote contains what is almost pathos, and in the minds of the readers there remains no doubt as to the career of the " Viall." " To the Musique-Meeting at the Post-office, where I was once before. And thither anon came all the Gresham College, and a great deal of noble Company; and the new instrument was brought, called the Arched Viall, where, being tuned with lute strings, and played on with keys like an organ, a piece of parchment is always kept moving; and the strings, which, by the keys, are pressed down upon it, are grated in imitation of a bow, by the parchment; and so it is intended to resemble several vialls played on with one bow, but so basely and so harshly that it will never do. But after three hours' stay it could not be fixed in tune; and so they were fain to go to some other musique of instruments."

Although used synonymously by many writers, the words instrumentation and orchestration have a distinct meaning. The first is the science of individual instruments, and the last is the art of combining instruments harmoniously. Instrumentation regards the instruments acoustic-ally and mechanically, but orchestration deals with the art of writing for the orchestra.

The many instruments which compose the orchestra, with their varieties of compass and tone, offer to the writer of music opportunities as numerous as do the different pigments which fill the color-box of the artist. Indeed, it is permissible to refer to the individual qualities of tone as their color. The German word corresponding to timbre is klangfarbe, a combination of words meaning tone and color. . Thus there is to be found a striking analogy between the art of orchestration and the art of painting.

Before attempting orchestration, the composer should have a knowledge of instrumentation, and a thorough knowledge of all forms of correct writing of music. He should make a thorough study of theory and harmony, in order that he may not be tempted to trust to orchestration as a means to hide defects in form, just as an artist must master line drawing before he attempts the use of color.

The term orchestra is very elastic, and may refer to a complete group of instruments numbering eighty or more, or to a group limited to eight or ten. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the standard organizations of the country, may be considered as a typical first-class orchestra, although at musical festivals five hundred performers are sometimes gathered together. The Symphony Orchestra contains six-teen first violins, fourteen second violins, ten violas, ten violoncellos, a harp, eight double basses, three flutes, two oboes, one English horn, three clarinets, three bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, three kettle drums, a triangle and a bass drum. As a general rule, the first violins slightly exceed the number of second violins ; the violas are somewhat fewer than the second violins, and the cellos and double basses are about half the number of the first violins. Above all else, the instruments must balance well.

The art of writing for the smaller group differs greatly from that of writing for the larger, but is no less an art, for the perfection of the composition depends more upon the manner in which the available instruments have been treated than upon their number. Large or small, the orchestra contains much the same elements. There are always the string band, the wood-winds, the brasses and the percussion group. The individuals of each group may be combined with each other, or with individuals from other groups.

The string band is composed of the first and second violins, the violas, the violoncellos, and the double basses. This group is the foundation of the orchestra, and must receive especially careful attention. Their importance is due to the fact that they have greater possibilities of expression, and can be played foi longer intervals without fatigue than can any of the other groups. The first violins are treated as sopranos, the second violins as altos, the violas as tenors, the violoncellos as barytones, and the double basses as basses. They are not restricted to these uses entirely, for the compass of the violas or of the violoncellos renders either capable of crossing and sounding even above the violins. The violins are the most wonderful instruments in the orchestra, as they can produce a tone unbearably shrill or beautifully soft and low. It can change from a wooing whisper to a fierce roar, and can be used in melodic passages of any quality. The violas and violoncellos possess many similar qualities. The voice of the viola in certain passages has a refined, veiled beauty, exclusively its own. The violon-cellos may be taken from their duty of supplying the bass of the orchestra, supported as they usually are (an octave lower) by the double basses, and made to figure in melodic passages, giving a tone of romantic richness impossible for the violins or violas. Only since the beginning of the Nineteenth Century has the double bass been allowed any function but that of doubling of the violoncellos. Beethoven discovered many new possibilities for it, and it now may carry an individual part. Although its voice is the lowest in the orchestra, the tones of the violoncello are much firmer, giving the effect of being louder.

In the stringed instruments, the fourth and second strings cannot be played together without the third sounding, making many chords impossible. When writing music for these instruments, the convenience of the fingers of the player's left hand must be considered, their proper order being, as a rule, the first finger to the fourth string, the second to the third, and so on. The fewer notes required of each instrument, the better will they be played, and often a chord is divided between two instruments when the whole could not be played easily by one.

The judicious use of the double bass is one of the niceties of orchestration, for there are times when it can be left out most effectively, and yet is indispensable in other connections. However, with the best of treatment for the violins or for the basses, there will be no solidity to a composition if the middle voices are not treated skilfully. If the viola cannot undertake the middle part alone, temporary assistance must be demanded of the other members of the stringed quintette. Although capable of great force and beauty when used alone, the strings can accompany equally as well; they can be subdued until their sound is no more than a flutter, which is felt rather than heard in every fiber of the appreciative listener.

The wood-winds include the piccolos, the flutes, the oboes, the clarinets, the English horns, the bassoons and the contra bassoons. The piccolo, which is in reality a small flute, can give the highest notes of the entire orchestra. It is not pleasant when heard alone, but used with the flute can produce good tones that are several semi-tones higher than those of the first violin. It is often used with the first violins, sounding an octave higher.

The flute used in the orchestra is the concert flute in C, and is a most important and effective instrument. It adds brilliancy to the violin tones when used with them to fill out in loud passages, and produces a sweet and tranquil effect when written an octave above the first violins. Pathetic melodies are effective when the flute accompanies the oboe an octave higher, and the two instruments are capable of producing a bird-like " twitter " when thus combined. The clarinet and flute, the latter an octave higher, may be combined to advantage, but with less romance than the oboe and flute. The latter pair is found in operatic scores, an octave above the voice, assisting the singer. Chords for the wind instruments alone are made especially effective by writing notes for two flutes close together. Two flutes in thirds or sixths may be made to figure in stormy passages.

The most refined of the wood-winds is the oboe, with its delicate mechanism and its double-beating reed mouth-piece. It has a tone that is very penetrating, and yet may be soft and tender. The lower notes tend to be extremely piercing when united with those of other instruments, and unless handled carefully will usurp to a disagreeable extent the principal place in the harmony. The tone quality of the oboe makes it especially qualified to express romantic passages, and two sounded together are successful in pastoral effects. Two written in thirds and lightly accompanied are heard to advantage. The oboe blends beautifully with the French horn.

The most beautiful of the wind instruments is the clarinet, and it is also the most useful. It can assist the first or second violins, the viola, or the violoncello, and in the military band does the work of the violins. It can convey melodic phrases and accompaniments with equal grace, and blends well with the bassoons and horns. In writing for a full orchestra, the powers of the clarinet are reserved for the most aspiring effects, and it serves very largely as a melodic instrument. The clarinet also blends well with the soprano voice, and furnishes an obbligato in much operatic and sacred music.

The bassoon, which is the bass of the oboe, occupies a position among the wood-winds similar to that of the cello among the strings. Its tones are heard most advantageously when combined with the clarinets and horns. When two are used with the strings, they give a soft warmth to the lower harmonies that is impossible with any other instrument. They appear well in solos to produce the mournful effect necessary in funeral marches, and can furnish a bass when the wood-winds sound without the strings for a time. The contra bassoon sounds an octave lower than the ordinary bassoon, and though exceedingly effective in suitable places, it is less frequently used than the higher instrument. It requires much breath for blowing.

The English horn, the alto of the oboe family, is essentially an instrument for solo or obbligato work. Its voice is very beautiful, and it can give occasional phrases indicating great pathos and gentleness.

The brass instruments comprise the horns, the trumpets or cornets, the trombones and the tubas. The French horn, as it is more properly called, when used in pairs, is a peculiarly genial instrument, adding a certain warmth to any gathering in which they may figure. The horn in an upper melody supported by the strings is very effective. A too popular method of using the horn is to have it emphasize the latter notes in a bar in the accompaniment to waltzes and other dances. The beauty of the tone is entirely taken away by this jerky utterance.

The trumpet is difficult to play, and it fails to occupy a place among the melodic instruments because of its limited scale. It has been succeeded by the orchestral valve trumpet, and the more easily played cornet, although the tone of the latter is greatly inferior.

The best qualities of the cornet are evident in low passages, for its voice grows blatant as the music increases in loudness. The cornets combined with the horns, and assisted in the bass by the trombone, produce brilliant effects, which are especially bright when part of the cornets and part of the horns cross. In waltz music of the better class the cornets and the trombones may effectively emphasize the first note of each bar with a full chord.

The trombone possesses great power, is capable of a remarkable variety of effects, and appears to best advantage in groups, for singly its usual function must be to supplement the other basses. In a full orchestra, a magnificent quintet is formed of the trombones in the three lower parts and the trumpets or cornets in the two higher. Trombones are capable of grand passages, and may figure in martial or heroic melody. A player has the power to give a furious blast on his instrument or to produce a tone similar in quiet dignity to that of the violoncello.

The bass of the brass band are the tubas, which take the place of the cellos and double basses in military bands. Unless their voices are carefully subdued they are noisy, but used properly, they add to the complete orchestral structure.

The instruments of percussion are useful in imparting accent and emphasis to an orchestral production. Theirs is a very important function, and is fulfilled with greatest beauty by the kettle drums. These are the only ones of the percussion group which are each capable of producing several tones of definite pitch. The bass drum and side drum are also prominent, although the side drum finds a place in orchestral work only when combined with the other instruments; used alone it is very crude. The cymbals are sounded with the bass drum, and are capable of assisting in very fine effects. The sharper voice of the triangle may also appear to advantage, and judgment is the only possible guide to the use of any of this group. The drums can produce rather grand effects, for instance, their beats in Handel's " Dead March " from Saul seem almost like sobs when heard at such a distance that the other instruments are rather subdued.

After the individuals of the different groups have been thoroughly understood and judiciously handled, the groups must be mingled in such a manner as to retain the beautiful effects of the individual combinations, and to produce new beauties. Any conceivable combination may be called for, but it is absolutely worthless if it creates confusion when played, and if there is no reasonable necessity for it. Eccentricity must be debarred from the manner in which the voices of the instruments are arranged, and there are innumerable elements of beauty at the disposal of the composer to be united in creating charming effects. If the elements of the groups are treated correctly, the exact effect which the composer desires may be produced. Modern composers are much more venturesome in their combinations than were the composers of the time of Bach, who adhered strictly to certain established rules. However, one of the delicate compositions of Bach may be produced with as beautiful an effect as the more sonorous and daring compositions of the new school. Wagner outraged the old standard, but behind his extreme ideas was a power and reason which has caused his music to attain its prominence. Many who have attempted to follow his example have failed, because they wrote more to produce startling effects than to embody a special feeling or reason.

When loud passages are required, as in march music, the handling of the group will of course differ greatly from that employed for more quiet or delicate passages, for the instruments need not be considered as cautiously. The brasses are sometimes entirely eliminated when delicate effects are desired. The brass group, unconsciously regarded as strident, may be subdued to express the most refined feelings, while the strings may shriek in frenzy. The entire orchestra should be so perfectly balanced that when a full chord is played, it will sound like the utterance of a single great instrument played upon by the director. It is an organ, with each instrument a pipe and each group a stop, and the dormant power with which the performers may execute their passages is the swell.

Contrast is an essential quality, and is procured by employing instruments of different tone quality to play the principal parts at different times. Without it, the best music would grow monotonous. Another effective combination is made by causing two groups to answer each other; the strings and the wood-winds, the wood-winds and brasses, or the massed winds in opposition to the strings. The brasses and strings do not combine well, however.

As new instruments have been added to the orchestra, the art of orchestration has changed. The ophicleide, and before it the serpent, formerly occupied the place held by the tuba. The addition of valves to the horns and trumpets makes these instruments chromatic, and vastly more easy to handle. The guitar and mandolin are used for serenade effects. The cornet has falsely usurped the place of the trumpet in many organizations because of its less difficult method of playing, but its poorer voice will always debar it from the better orchestras. Top of Page