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NGtJTRAL IS POLITICS & R ELIGION—DEVOTED TO ART, SCIENCE, EDUCATION. MORALITY AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF SACRED MUSIC*
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SABBATH DAY. —C. ]I. D„ Original, by Wm. M. Howell.
Come dearest Lord, and feed thy sheep, Ou this sweet day of rest. Welcome and precious to mv soul, Are these sweet days of love.
O, bless this flock, and make this fold Enjoy an heaven y rest.
Bt t what a Fabbath shall I keep, When i shall rest above.
[for the Organ.
CIRCULAR
To be read before the Southern Musical
Convention, Sept. 1555.
BY COLUMBUS HOWARD.
We are instructed, in the introduction
to the work adopted by our body or in
stitution, (viz: the Sacred liarp.) that
‘'‘Music consists of a succession of pleas*
ing sounds,” leaving us to infer that a
■succession of unpleasant sounds would not
constitute Music. In Older to airive at
a moie definite idea ol the component
parts ot Music, let us endeavor to ana j
lyze the term Sound , or, iti other words, |
endeavor to investigate ‘he cause and
•effect of Sound. Vibration of the atm os* j
phere is generally allowed to be the;
cause of Sound. For instance, the ring* 1
ing ol a bell affords an example. The ,
Bell when struck by its clapper, vibrates, j
as we may readily assure ourselves, by j
■touching the fingernail lightly to the bo* j
•dy of the bell. Its vibrations agitate the i
surrounding atmosphere which yielding I
to the pressure, is condensed to a certain j,
distance around, in proportion to the
force ol the blow that caused the agila
tion. The ait thus compressed immedi
ately expands, and in doing so, repeats
the pressure on the uu nexf iiPcontact |
with it, and thus each vibration sends
fuith a series ol circles, as it were, ol
compressed air, similar iti effect produced
on the sui la<r ol a still body of water
dtstbtt^by.dropping a substance';
into it, and, like them, always lessening
in bulk and lorce. ‘1 he air thus agitated,
finally n ache 6 the ear, wl*ere it gives a
similar impulse tit aneivous membrane,
laud the mind thus receives the impres
tion ot Sound.
It i unnecessary to enter into the par*
licular -qualities and minui ceot Sound,
■other than what relates paiticulatly to the
subject upon which we propose to treat,
viz: Music, ’lheie is a peculiarity in
sounds entirely dependent on the charac
ter ot the body soundedI—for 1 —for instance, a
blow ii flicted with one substance on ano*
ther. or the concussion ol atmosphere
produced by a discharge of fire*arms or
electricity, ptoducesonly a noise. But il
a body be of such a conformation as to
produce a succession of sounds of a suffi
cient degree ol quickness, a tone is the
result —namely, a noise composed of a
number of sounds so close upon each
other that they bring but one continued
result to the ear. The vibrations of the
stiings ol musical instruments, also co*
Jun ns ol the air itself enclosed in tubes,
such as Flutes. Trumpets, &c., are the
most common examples of sounds of this
kind. Such sounds are called musical.
Although our Essay is intended to treat
principally upon Vocal Music, still it is
necessary to a complete investigation and
understanding of the subject, that every
one should be conversant with the funda
mental principles ol Sound, its mathe
matical proportions, details, &c., neces
saiy to make Music. Let no one suppose
that Music, either Vocal or Instrumental,
•can be taught in a few lessons. It is just
as difficult to gain a practical knowledge
of Music as any other Science ; and, in
fact, if anything, it is more so : for while
most of other Sciences depend exclusive*
!y on intellectual exertion, that of Mu-ic
depends on the cultivation ol those (acui
ties which can only be brought to perfect
tion by a perse vet ing and patient course
of practice.
The study of Musical Sounds as a
branch of Natural Philosophy, is calcula
ted to give as much pleasure to the man
of Science as Harmony itself can convey
to the ears of those who are skilled in its
performance —lor it can be proven that
the natural character of the several sounds
composing Muric bear to each other a
relative proportion of mathematical pre
cision. In fact, their relation to each
other is truly remarkable, while the rela
tion of the whole to the human mind
must be considered as an interesting
proof of that wisdom and harmony always
apparent in the creative designs.
In order to prove our position, we have
only to,notice the following facls : Every
TUB ORGAN.
. one who has the least knowledge of the !
j cience of Music, knows that there are j
but seven primary sounds in Music.— |
There are five others that may be pro
duced by a practical voice with some dis- >
ficulty, but to the uncultivated human
voice there aje but seven. ‘These sounds
or notes are ot different degrees of shrill
ness, one rising above another in regular
succession. A person who knows noth
ing of Music beyond having heard it per*,
formed, will be ready to deny this assers j
tion. but it is nevertheless true. The !
| voice may run up into other notes, but J
; all those are mere repetitions of the first’
seven, differing only in shrillness, being
; identical in every other respect. These
: seven notes are designated by the first
; seven letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D,
E F and G. Let an ordinary piece of
} violin string be extended between two 1 ’
| points on a board—it may be made, accors !
j ding to its length and tension, to vibrate !
’ exactly 240 times in a second. This pro
i duces, according to the calculation of
! eminent-musicians, the note C, which is
’the natural Major Key, and is so called j
because it is the most natural to the hu- ,
man voice—or, in other words, it is the i
note which a man will find upon trial
j that he is most apt to begin losing a tong.
The reason of this is, that the membrane
at the top ol the wind-pipe vibrates ex- ‘
actly the same number of times in a sec- I
ond, producing the same sound. The 1
. equality, in the umber of vibrations is
what makes the notes the same, and the
effect hatmonious.
Let us suppose, for experiment, that
the string is forty-five inches in length—
that produces 240 vibrations in a second,
the note C. This being extended between
two points near the surface of a board,
the experimenter may place his finger
upon ii in the centre, and strike either
half, when he will find a much shriller
note produced, being, in fact, the first C
of anew series of notes —or, in musical
pat lance, the octave of the first C, the
vibrations in this case being doubled, viz: ‘
480 in a second.
Again, let tis snppose that the siting is I
shortened one third, or to 30 inches long. |
This will produce the letter G, as in this
case tne length of the string is two thirds
of the first, so the number of vibrations
are one and a halt those of the former,
or 360. all the oiliar notes are produced
by different lengths ot the string as fol
lows : B, 24 inches. 430 vibrations', A,
27, inches. 400 vibrations; F, 32$ inch
es, 320 vibrations; E, 36 inches, 300
vibrations; D, 40 inches, 270 vibrations.
The reason why we have been thus
1 particular, is to show the curious mathe
matical proportions on which the various
notes depend, thereby substantiating the
1 position that we have heretofore taken.
Takiog C for one, and its octave at one
half, we have various lengths of strings
(or the intermediate notes in the follow*
• ing proportions, viz: for D, 8 9; for E,
•4 3; for F, 3-4; for G, 2 3; for A, 35;
1 and forß, 8-15; all of of which propor
> lions are exactly reversed with regard to
1 the numbers of vibrations—the shorter
1 the string the greater the number of vi
-1 brations.
We see by the above scale, that the
’ proportions are not regular. The string
; is first shortened 3 inches, then 4, then
’ 2£, next 3ijf, and so on. Nevertheless,
’ these are the notes most natural to the
5 voice, and which the ear recognizes as
beautiful. The string, if shortened at
t more regular intervals, would give forth
• musical sounds, but not the seven prima
i ry notes of music—notes, those peculiar
> sounds which all nations recognize as
i such, and which nature has manifestly
appointed to serve in that character,
j Irregular, however, as the proportions
t appear, there are some ol the seven notes
. i more proportioned to each other than the
rest. They are said to be more in har
mony with each other, and the effect
when they are sung together, is pleasing.
; a note always harmonizes with its octave,
i or repeating note above it. This is sup
posed to be because the vibrations are as
! two to one. C also harmonizes with G,
’ its fifth, because the vibrations are 2 to 3.
Hamilton, Ga. Wednesday, October 17,
j Some other notes, if sounded at the same
j time with those a third above them, pro
duce harmony, which may be accounted
, for in the same way, their proportions be
ing symmetrical. Thirds, fifths and oc
taves are therefore pleasing and harmoni
ous sounds, while seponds, forfhs, sixths
and sevenths are lessiso.
There have been flxperiments made of
a veiy curious nature, by those who have
examined into the pr mary principals and
! causes of musical sotnds. For instance,
a long string ol the Piano Forte or Harp
| when struck, the vibrations not only ex
j tend along the full length of the string,
but it has been ascertained that minor vi
brations occur at different distances, cor
responding with Ihifds, fifths, &c- Hav
ing shown that the science of Music in
i its fundamental principles is based upon
j rules of mathematical precision, we will
I next notice the mode of acquiring a prac
tical knowledge of ( ts.
The system generally introduced by
which to acquire a knowledge of Music
have been* made obscure, intricate and
(almost unintelligible, by the useless in
terposition of a mass of difficulties.—
‘Things in themselves actually plain and
simple as the Alphabet, have been envel
oped in mystery, and the primary princi
ples of the art, notwithstanding their real
! simplicity, have been completely mvsti
| fied by mass of technical terms. And this
being the c^se, also brought vabout the
opposite Alt(I s -frrr science has’
been apparently simplified by 1 , a r eat
many methods devised for the purpose of
diminishing the labor ol reflection and
memory. But there are no by-ways and i
short cuts to a knowledge of MuSic, (as
we have stated in the foregoing part of
these remarks,) any more than to Mathe
matics. Like everything else, in order
to acquire skill in its practice we must
gain a clear knowledge of its principles,
and this can only be done by application
and perseverence. All that a teacher
(can do is to divest the principles of un\
(necessary obscurity, and to present the
j rules of practice in their simplest and
most comprehensive form—the rest must
I be done by the student himself.
Although this, to the new beginner,
will seem to present an almost insur
mountable barrier, it is by no means so
difficult as it would at first sight appear;
and we have numerous instances where
men have overcome all obstacles and ar
rived at superlative excellence in musi
cal knowledge—for instance, we have an
account of Hayden, one of the most cel
ebrated musicians the world ever knew,
that when he first thought of writing mu
sic he could get no one to instruct him.
He war consequently thrown upon his
own resources. Still he despaired not.
He bought an old treatise on Harmony,
and devoting himself so the study of it
with all zeal, speedily acquired a maste
ry of the principles of the art, and ere
long became one of its brightest orna
ments. Handel composed at nine years
of age ; Mozart at six, and several other I
eminent musicians wrote music at a very
early age. It is true that these were
men of extraordinary musical talent; but
still the early age at which they wrote
serves to prove that the science is not so
very abstruce, when it can be compre
hended by the mind of a child six years
old.
There is no station or degree of society
in which music may not be cultivated
with advantage; and the experience of
the present day has shown, and is show
ing more and more, that even the classes
who earn their daily bread by the sweat
of their blow, may find in music a recre
ation within their reach, full of innocent
enjoyment and pregnant with moral and
social benefits. It has been found that
the highest pleasures which it can imparl
are accessible to the humble as well as to
the highest, and that it is to the toil-worn
mechanic and laborer that music dispense
es its best and dearest blessings Those
however, whatever may be their station
in society, who are to derive such bene
fits from music, must acquire a knowl
edge of it as an art—whose principles and
rules afford exereise to the intellect, and
whose lofty and beautiful productions
exalt and purify the mind.
There ere many persons without this
knowledge that exhibit much sensibility
to music, and derive much pleasure from
the simple strains in which, taught by
nature alone, they give expression to
their feelings; and there is no doubt that
even to their untutored minds, music
such as theirs, is a source of much high
er and better enjoyment than the mere
gratification of sense. For instance, the
negro who chants his rude corn song as
he performs his daily labor, seems to les
sen his toil; and it is a fact universally
known, that the one who is continually
singing is always the most cheerful. But
it is only, we lepeat, when music has
become an art and where its exercise
has become invested with the dignity of
an intellectual pursuit, that its effects as
an instrument of civilization and moral
improvement become evident and strik
ing-
Evident as this has become so the civ
ilized world, there are some (and a great
many too,) living in the most enlightened
portions ol it—yea, even in this glorious
land of ours, who are opposed to schools
instituted for the purpose of teaching
music. They are opposed to teaching
that most beautiful and essential branch of
it, viz: Sacred Music. We,as creatures
of the dust, are emphatically commanded
to jiraise by
and moreover.’ commanded “ toping?
with the spirit and the undfrstandmg" 1
and how can we sing with understanding
unless we understand how to sing ?
j These persons are actuated perhaps by
the same principles which influenced the
good people in the year 1714. We are
informed that the Rev. John Tuftsin
that year published a small work on mu
sic, Entitled, “Every plain and easy in
troduction to the art of singing Psfoms,
Tunes, with Cantos, Trebles of twenty
eight Pslam tunes, contrived in such a
manner as that the learner may attain
the skill of singing them with the great
est ease and speed imaginable. Price
sixpence, or five shillings a dozen,”
Small as this book must haye been to
be afforded for sixpence, it was a great
novelty—it being’ the first publication of
the kind in New England, if not in Am
erica. As late as 1700, there was not
more than four or five tunes known in
many of the congregations in this coun
try, and in some, not more than two or
three, and even these were sung altogeth
er by rote (not note.) These tunes were
York, Hackney, St. Mary’s, Windsor,
and Martyrs. To publish at this time a
book on Music, containing the enormous
number of twentyeight tunes, was a dar
ing innovation on the old time-honored
customs of the country ; and the attempt
to teach singing by note, thus commenc
ed by Mr. Tufts, was most strenuously
resisted for many years by that large
class of persons everywhere to be found,
j who believe that an old error is better
than anew truth.
Again. A writer in the New England
Chronicle in 1723, thus observes: “Tru
ly I have a great jealousy, that if we
once begin to sing by rule, the next
thing will be to pray by rule and preach
by rule, and then comes Popery.
How much we have improved in this
respect ip the last one hundred and fifty
years, we have but to look around and
compare the present state ot society with
the manner with which it was regarded
in those days. Still this is called the age
of improvement. Alas ! for the improve- 1
ment in the manner in which congrega
tion* join in singing praise to God. Per
haps people think it a matter of seconda
ry importance, or no importance at all,
while every thing else shows the pro
gression of the age. But will God, to
whom they profess to give thanks and
worship for these very blessings and im
provements, overlook the carelessnes and
indifference with which they treat the
most beautiful part of His worship? Let
professors of Christianity think of this
and ponder it well, for it is not a subject
to be lightly passed over.
[VOL. 4—NO* 33 ‘
The best system according to our judy*
ment tor teachiug Vocal Music, is Wil’
helm’s method, as laid down by Cham*
hers in his “ Information for the People.*’
He says, “ Wilhelm’s method has at
least two peculiarities—lst, he uses no
musical instrument 3d, he
makes thorough musicians of his pupils
as they proceed— not teaching them
merely to imitate the sounds given by the
Piano Forte, Flute, or Violin, but he
teaches how far the voice is to be raised
or lowered from one sound to by
actual measurement if such a term may
be used.
He has based his method on three great
principles Ist. That the human voice
is the origin ol all music, and therefore
the model for every musical insrument
known. Experience has proved that if
we take any given sound as a foundation
and raise our voices by degrees, (to us
most natural) we can produce seven dis.
tinct sounds, each different from the oth*
er, and following each other by a regular
and definite succession. It is the aim of
all instruments to imitate or nearly as pos
sible these seven sounds.
2d. Sympathy of voices in large bodies
of people This sympathy has not yet
been sufficiently explained, yet the most
acceptable of many theoiies on this point,
is that of Dr. Arnate, that the vibrations
caused in the atmosphere by a large num*
ber of voices, has the remarkable effect of
bringing all to the same pitch, and what
is still more interesting, that all will fol*
low or be ied by those that are correct,
and never a correct voice y ield to one that
is wrong, but maintain its position.
3d. That the study of an art should al
ways be arranged on the constructive, or
synthetic, not on the analytical method.
The constructive method is understood as
commencing with the next simple facts,
and according to the general, through a
series in which every step of the progress
is distinctly marked, and which enable?
the pupil without straining his faculties to
arrive at results which might other/wvsft
difficult of
Vffiaking die dfWinstrumenthaM|r*
■ jrvefyjpihg utftfer proper yu,ftl an ce to the
resources of the learner, he produces that
independance of foreign aid so much de
sired by all good singers— correcness of
jntonation, trme, &c.
There is one tiring however, that is
very essential to the successful teaching
of vocal music, and that is the qualifica
tions of the leacher. He should not on
ly understand principles but should
b 6 himself a good singer, so that when he
teaches he could sing with his pupils;
they will learn twice as much in a given
time as if taught by precept alone. We
are fplly convinced that singing can only
be taught by singers.
The difficulty of learning to sing is
greater with some than with others, yet,
no one should be discouraged; there are
great many persons whose voices both in
reading and conversation are musical,
highly so; yet they have never learned
ro sing, having been early led to believe
themselves destitute of the necessary
taste and talent. A friend of ours, a
plain common sense man, was accustom*
ed to say in his peculiar* way, “Any one
who can call hogs can sing.” The re
mark has truth iu it, even though we
should admit a somewhat wide diversity
in natural character. Every one can read
and speak with more or less accuracy,
and of music too. Why cannot every
one sing?
We have somewhere read of a little
girl who seemed to be as destitute of an
ear for music as any one, yet her parents
being determined that she should sing,
contrived to set her a daily example.—
This example, though not the most perfect,*
aided bj’ the custom of singing in the day
school and Sabbath.School, which she at
tended, at length wrought a change on
her and she became a good singer.
If every one would drop the notion that
they are destitute of an ear for music, and
only try, we have no doubt that most, if
not all, would accomplish the desired ret
suit. The following story illustrative of
the above, we beg leave to give verbatim
as translated from a French paper:,
I They used to say, “ that every soldier
carried in his cartridge box a marshall’s
baton.” Might not one say in thefedays,
that every chorister carries in his wind
pipe a fortune ? Here is one example at
“ About thirty years sgo, in a little city
of Italy, at Borgame, by a singular con
trast the company at the Opera. Mouse
was quite indifferent, while the chdnstcrs
were excellent; it could scarcely have
been otherwise, since the greater* part of
them have become distinguished compa*
sers.
“There was others t sal lime