Scan 64
The new encyclopedia of music and musicians, 1929
40 lines. Read by computer on 16 September 2026. Printed page 48. See the scan on archive.org.
1E. The alphabetic symbol and name of a certain tone or note and for the scale or key associated with it; see Notation. G.
3E la, in the medieval hexachord-system, was the highest tone (corresponding to e1; from this the term was transferred in literature to mean the extreme of anything.
5Ear. The physical organ which is the seat of the special sense of hearing, on which music as a function, an experience and an art depends; hence the sense itself and its operation with regard to music. To have a musical ear is to have hearing that is sensitive to minute distinctions in tones (as to pitch, quality and loudness) and their relations, or that is so impressed by tones in their artistic presentation as to appraise, analyze and hold them in attention, and hence, if required, to guide in recalling and reproducing them. Persons having this capacity are able more or less to sing and play by ear. The power of speech and song depends upon that of hearing, any defect in the ear being accompanied by some impairment in the voice.
7The internal structure of the ear and the method of its functioning are entirely beyond the reach of ordinary observation. The parts of the intricate mechanism that are most important in their bearing upon musical acoustics and aesthetics are (a) the membrane (popularly known as the ear-drum) that separates the outer from the middle ear and that is thrown into vibration by sounds of all kinds, (b) the chain of three ossicles that conveys the vibrations of this membrane into the inner ear or labyrinth, and, most important of all, (c) the structure of the labyrinth itself, with its convoluted shape, its internal sac, filled with liquid, running up into the cochlea (an organ shaped like a twisted snail-shell), in which are distributed the many terminals of the auditory nerve (estimated at about 3000). Because these parts are so hidden and so minute, it is not strange that their precise mode of operation is unclear or differently interpreted. The critical point of dispute is as to the functions of the abovenamed terminals (the rods of Corti). The most common view is that these terminals respond as resonators to the vibrations brought to them and in some way serve to translate vibrations into sensations of tone. The classical discussion of the subject is that of Helmholtz in his Tonempfindungen (1863).
9For ear as a part of organ-pipes, see Pipe.
11Ear-training. In elementary instruction, the process of developing sensitiveness to musical phenomena of all sorts, especially by making the student listen to and record a progressive series of illustrations; cf. dictation.
13Ecclesiastical Modes. See Mode.
15Echo. Acoustically, the repetition of a sound by reflection or repercussion from an obstructing object, so that it may be heard apart from its direct or primary transmission, but always with less intensity or loudness. Hence, in music, applied to the repetition of a figure or phrase with reduced force, sometimes an octave higher or lower, sometimes with a change of quality. Also any mechanical device on an instrument, like a harpsichord or an organ, whereby echo-effects can be readily produced; as an echo-stop. In organ-making, one division of the instrument, located apart from the others and containing soft stops, is called the echo-organ; see Organ. G.
17Echo-effects were specially common in music of the 17–18th centuries and are still used, often with subtle changes of tonal form.
19Écossaise. See Dances.
21Effect. Specifically, the particular character of a detail or passage, if not of the whole to which it belongs, that is imparted by a studied and dexterous use of devices either of composition or of performance, so as to make a definite and designed impression. See Expression and Interpretation.
23Élogue. An instrumental idyl or pastoral.
25Eighth. Same as octave. Eighth-note, eighth-rest, see Notation.
27Eisteddfod. A Welsh national assembly designed to stimulate patriotic feeling through literary and musical exercises and competitions under the leadership of bards. G.
29Traces of such gatherings are found as far back as the 7th century, with more definite accounts from the 15th onward. They appear to have been held at entirely irregular intervals. During the 19th century, especially after about 1820, they have been frequent, tending to become annual, and are sometimes held in more than one place in the same year (of late years in the United States as well as in Great Britain). During sessions of 2–3 days contests in oratory, poetry, choral singing and harp-playing take place, for which prizes and titular honors are offered. These competitions have not only made Welsh part- and chorus-singing famous, but have powerfully stimulated composition in all forms, from congregational tunes to cantatas and oratorios. Many quaint usages and traditions also tend to make them both picturesque and socially influential.
31Electric Action. In organ-making, any type of key- or stop-action in which the connection with the internal mechanism is effected through contacts and an electric current instead of by rods and levers or compressed air. An organ with such action is often termed an electric organ (or electro-pneumatic, if both electric and pneumatic devices are used).
33Electric motors are also often used to actuate the blowing-apparatus by which compressed air is supplied to organs, as well as to operate various automatic instruments.
35An electric piano was invented in 1891 by Eisenmann of Berlin, in which the strings were made to sound, not by hammers, but by electro-magnets thrown into action by the keys, the intensity, duration and even quality of the tone being modified by special devices. A still more elaborate application of electro-magnetism is the telharmonium, exhibited in 1907 by Thaddeus Cahill of New York, designed to produce quality-effects synthetically (by means of the necessary partial-tones) and with them to perform instrumental music so as to distribute it telephonically. Recently, also, electricity has been extensively applied in the dissemination of both vocal and instrumental performances by wireless telegraphy.
37Elegy. A vocal or instrumental composition of a pathetic or mournful character; a lament or dirge. An extended work, like an ode, sonata, suite or symphony, may be termed elegiac. G.
39Elevation. In church-music, a vocal or organ-
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