Scan 306
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
4 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 266. See the scan on archive.org.
1the scale, and is therefore termed the dominant or ruling seventh. All the seventh chords formed on the other steps of the scale are called secondary sevenths, and the one on the seventh step is the diminished seventh, both its fifth and seventh being diminished. Any composition which makes much use of these secondary seventh chords will appear to some ears harsh, but as some people like dissonances, and some grow to like them when they are used right, this source of unpleasantness changes to one of pleasure. The cause of apparent difference in the feeling of different keys, which people experience at present, is mostly due to faulty tuning or to the bad condition of their instruments in some other respect. Of course, if the pitch of a composition is suddenly raised one half or whole tone, it will appear temporarily brighter, if lowered the contrary effect takes place; otherwise, considering all from the standpoint of a perfect instrument, the difference in keys will hardly be noticed. Much depends upon a piano being in tune. A good instrument in tune will produce mellow, soft, beautiful tones and the same instrument, if out of tune, even slightly, will sound harsh, hard and unpleasant.
3The effect of keys in compositions and their choice is entirely determined by the mood of the composer and the mood in which he intends to have the composition appear. If it is to be a brilliant and striking march, he will choose a major key. Example, Wagner's March in "Tannhäuser" at the entrance to the Wartburg. If the composer wishes to express a death scene he chooses the minor key. Splendid examples are Chopin's "Funeral March" and Beethoven's "Funeral March" Sonata Opus 26, their tones are soft, singing, expressive, sorrowful, sometimes pathetic and often weird. One must not think that the minor key is restricted to sad music. Some nations use it even in their dance music, as the Poles in their mazurkas, many of which are in the minor keys. This would rather mean that the Poles even in their joys have not forgotten their sadness. Of course the
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