Scan 80
university dictionary of music and musicians, 1912
8 lines. Read by computer on 10 September 2026. Printed page 446. See the scan on archive.org.
1rhythm, the combination and duration of tones, to say nothing of the rhetorical graces and shades of expression without which music becomes mechanical and tedious. If any man shall invent a system whereby full scores can be more easily read than the examples here reproduced, he will be a public benefactor. Meantime it is important that the difficulties of the present system be not exaggerated. In the keyboard of the piano and other instruments having Equal TEMPERAMENT, the Octave, that is to say the range of tones between the tone resulting from any given number of vibrations, and the tone which results from double that number of vibrations, is divided into twelve nearly equal semitones. There is a difference between A sharp and B flat when correctly played on instruments of the violin family, or sung, but where Equal Temperament prevails this difference is only theoretical, a compromise of both semitones sounded by a black key, serving for each. The first step in the notation of pitch is the Staff, which consists of five straight horizontal lines. If the range of tones to be noted shall exceed those which can be represented on or between these five lines, or immediately below the lowest or above the highest line, Ledger Lines are added.
3Since it is more convenient to record tones without resorting to Ledger Lines, a Clef is employed to accommodate the compass of voices and instruments to the staff, of which several varieties are employed. The C Clef stands or for c' (Middle C), no matter what its position on the staff may be. Whatever line it grips represents c', and when it occurs on the first or lowest line it is called the Soprano or Discant Clef; on the third line it becomes the Alto Clef; and on the fourth line the Tenor Clef. The most important Clefs are the G or Treble Clef, which is always placed on the second line, and the F or Bass Clef, both of which are essential to the notation of music for the piano. The staff modified by the G Clef represents the following tones:
5Modified by the F Clef, the Staff represents:
7A single Ledger Line for c' is sufficient to bring these two registers together. The Staff may be thus compared to a ladder, the rungs and spaces of which indicate the height or depth of a tone. But the tones indicated by the Staff are whole tones or natural tones, such as those sounded on striking only the white keys of the piano. The semitones are indicated by the Sharp (♯), which when prefixed to a note raises its value one semitone; the Flat (♭) which lowers the note to which it is prefixed by a semitone; and the Natural (♮) which cancels the effect of either a Sharp or a Flat. The Double Sharp (𝄪) raises the value of a note two semitones; the Double Flat (𝄫) lowers its value two semitones; and the double chromatics are cancelled by the Natural in combination with the Sharp (𝄪♯) or Flat (𝄫♭). Sharps, Flats, and Naturals occurring occasionally in notation are called Accidentals. Only the Natural key of C can be represented without the use of accidentals, however, and to avoid the endless repetition of these characters throughout a composition in the other keys, it is customary to group either the Sharps or Flats necessary to a given key after the Clef, indicating that the notes which follow are to be modified accordingly until further notice. These groups of Sharps and Flats indicating the key are called the Signature, and the signatures of the various keys are as follows, the signature of a major key serving also for that key's relative minor, although the tonic of the minor key is a minor third below that of the major: C (C); G (G♯); D (D♯); A (A♯); E (E♯);
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.