Scan 114
Researches into the early history of the violin family, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 104. See the scan on archive.org.
1to obtain the correct intonation of several intervals sounded simultaneously without the necessity of his placing his fingers precisely at the spots which yield these intervals. For the same reason the immediate precursors of the violin were usually supplied with frets. The treatment of these instruments was, in fact, very different from that of our present instruments played with a bow. Their fingerboard was constructed especially with the aim of facilitating the production of harmonious combinations, since concord was often more thought of than simple expressive melody.
3It is rarely that the name of an Asiatic musical instrument can be traced to a European origin. There are, however, one or two instances in which this seems to be possible. Thus, the Chinese name ye-yin, by which they occasionally designate their fiddle, may possibly be a corruption of giga, or geige, considering that the common name of the Chinese fiddle is urheen, and that Macao, where this instrument is said to be called ye-yin, has been above three hundred years in the possession of the Portuguese, and is a seaport town in constant communication with European nations. But the dictionaries of the Japanese language have the word yeiji, signifying "to sing," and it is by no means improbable that a similar word is to be found in the old Chinese language, and that the name of the instrument can be traced to it. Be this as it may, it is certainly always hazardous to jump at conclusions from observing resemblances of names applied to musical instruments of different nations like those under consideration. At all events, if accidental coincidences had been duly taken into account, some of the misapprehensions respecting our mediæval instruments played with a bow found in our musical literature would probably have never arisen, or would at all events have been dispelled before this time.
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