Sound and music : y W.H. Stone.

  • William Henry Stone
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sound and music : y W.H. Stone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    39/52 (page 37)
    tlius | added to V° give f, the major third; and these, added to }4, give £ the perfect fourth; and so on—§, \}°, j-|, f, , j4 added together give f or the octave. In addition to these three relations, f less gives 128 :135, or the chromatic semitone; thus there are in the scale two tones, | large and less, and two semitones, j4 diatonic and j4f chromatic. Besides these four relations, the three musical differences of the scale are also to he found on this instrument, viz., \° less if = 24 : 25, the imperfect chromatic semitone—f less = 80 : 81, the comma—and the schisma 32,768 : 32,805, which is also deduced from these relations. The comma is the difference between the large and less tones or steps of the scale. The schisma is the difference between a sharp tone and a flat one, say between and Ei?. The round added digital in each octave does not belong to the series of the major scale ; it produces the major seventh and sixth in the minor scale, and also introduces the im- perfect chromatic semitone of 24:25, being Ij3- less ff. The effect of this additional digital is very peculiar; the tone seems to be too flat till it is heard in the chord. These seven are all the primary musical relations and differences to be found on the natural fingerboard; there are many secondary keys to which I have paid no attention, —they may be very beautiful, but I do not enter into that question—for I have yet to learn, first, if they are true, and, secondly, if they are necessary or useful. The introduction of a round digital, placed upon the white as well as on the coloured digitals, would supply every secondary key that the most exacting musician can demand; but I was anxious to avoid anything that would complicate or confuse the fingerboard. Music has greatly to complain of mathematicians for carry- ing their formula} beyond their legitimate sphere into the domain of music ; and mathematicians, on the other hand, have to complain of musicians for demanding a number of secondary keys which are not mathematically or musically in true key relationship. It would be quite easy to make an instrument with them all, and at no great cost of money ; but what would be the advantage? In constructing this instrument the principles I had to consider were : a mathematical series of sounds on the one