THE TONES ABOUT US.
"Scientific education ought to teach us to see the invisible as well
as the visible in nature."--_John Tyndall_.[10]
There used to live in England a famous scientist named Tyndall, who
was interested, among other things, in the study of sound. He studied
sounds of all kinds, made experiments with them, wrote down what he
observed, and out of it all he wrote a book,[11] useful to all who
desire to learn about sound and its nature.
One day, Tyndall and a friend were walking up one of the mountains of
the Alps.[12] As they ascended the path, Tyndall's attention was
attracted by a shrill sound, which seemed to come from the ground at
his feet. Being a trained thinker he was at once curious to know what
was the cause of this. By looking carefully he found that it came from
a myriad of small insects which swarmed by the side of the path.
Having satisfied himself as to what it was he spoke to his companion
about the shrill tone and was surprised to learn that he could not
hear it. Tyndall's friend could hear all ordinary sound perfectly
well. This, however, seemed to be sound of such a character as did not
reach his sense of hearing. One who like Tyndall listened carefully to
sounds of all kinds would quickly detect anything uncommon. This
little incident teaches us that sounds may go on about us and yet we
know nothing of them. Also it teaches us to think about tones, seek
them, and in the first days increase our acquaintance and familiarity
with them.
Men of science, who study the different ways in which the mind works,
tell us that habit and also a busy mind frequently make us unconscious
of many things about us. Sometimes we have not noticed the clock
strike, although we have been in the room on the hour; or some one
speaks to us, and because we are thinking of something else we fail to
hear what is said to us. It certainly is true that very many people do
not hear half of the sounds that go on about them, sounds which, if
but heeded, would teach people a great deal. And of all people, those
who study music should be particularly attentive to sounds of all
kinds. Indeed, the only way to begin a music education is to begin by
learning to listen. Robert Schumann, a German composer, once wrote a
set of rules for young musicians. As it was Schumann's habit to write
only what was absolutely needed we may be sure he regarded his rules
as very important. There are sixty-eight of them, and the very first
has reference to taking particular notice of the tones about us. If we
learn it from memory we shall understand it better and think of it
oftener. Besides that, we shall have memorized the serious thought of
a truly good and great man. This is what he says:
"The cultivation of the ear is of the greatest importance. Endeavor
early to distinguish each tone and key. Find out the exact tone
sounded by the bell, the glass, and the cuckoo."
There is certainly a good hint in this. Let us follow it day by day,
and we shall see how many are the tones about us which we scarcely
ever notice. We should frequently listen and find who of us can
distinguish the greatest number of different sounds. Then we shall
learn to listen attentively to sounds and noises. Bit by bit all
sounds, especially beautiful ones, will take on a new and deeper
meaning to us; they will be full of a previously unrecognized beauty
which will teach us to love music more and more sincerely.
In order that we may better understand how sounds are related to each
other we should learn early to sing the major scale so that it will go
readily up and down as a melody. As we become more and more familiar
with it we must think frequently of its separate tones so as to feel
just how each one sounds in the scale, how it fits in the scale, and
just what it says, in fact; we shall then notice after a while that we
can hear the scale with the inner ear, which is finer and more
delicate.[13]
We should have names for the scale-tones like the pretty Italian
syllables, or, if not these, whatever our teacher suggests. Then we
should have a conception of the tones as they are related. We should
learn that every tone of the scale is colored by the tonic. Every one
gets a character from the tonic which tells us all about it, because
we learn to hear its relation to its principal tone. In a little
while, with patience, we shall be able to hear the scale-tones in any
order we may choose to think them. That power will be a fine help
forever after--we must be sure to get it in the first days.
Whenever we hear two tones we should try to find them on the piano.
This will make us listen more attentively to the tone sounded by the
clock, the church-bell, the bird, the drinking-glass. And what a lot
there are, like the squeaking door, the cricket, the noise of the wind
and rain, the puff of the engine, and all the other sounds we hear in
a day. Bit by bit, in this way, our familiarity with tones will grow
and we shall be well repaid for all the trouble. Gradually we shall
become better listeners--but about listening we are to speak in our
next Talk. This, however, may be said now: Let us always be sure to
listen with special care to two tones, calling one the tonic, or
first, of the major scale and finding what degree the other is, or
near what degree it lies. This will make us better acquainted with the
scale and we shall learn that all the music we have comes out of it.
We must also listen to tones so that we can tell something about them
besides their scale names. We must learn to describe tones, tell
whether they are high or low, sweet or harsh, loud or soft, long or
short. For instance, through the window I can hear a church-bell. Some
one is ringing it slowly so that the tones are long. The tone is not a
very high one (it is G above middle C) and the quality is rich and
mellow. This describes the church-bell tone quite well, and in like
manner we may describe all the sounds we hear. We should make it a
habit often to stand or to sit perfectly still and to listen to
everything that goes on about us. Even in the country, where all seems
as quiet as possible, we shall be surprised at the great number of
sounds.
There are some other tones to which I fear we are prone not to listen.
I mean the tones which the piano makes when we play finger-exercises.
We think perhaps of the finger motion, which is not all; or we think
of nothing, which is very bad; or our thoughts begin to picture other
things even while we play, which is the worst of all, and bit by bit
we actually forget what we are doing. One of the quickest ways to
become unable to hear sounds correctly is to play the piano without
thinking fully of what we are doing. Therefore it must be a rule never
to play a tone without listening acutely to it. If in the first days
we determine to do this and remain faithful to it, we shall always
touch the piano keys carefully, thoughtfully, and reverentially.
Elsewhere we shall have some definite tone lessons for the purpose of
making us familiar with the tones about us. But no rule can exceed in
importance this one, never to make any music unthinkingly.
By care and practice we soon become so skilful as to notice tones with
the readiness we notice colors in the garden. The sense of tone must
be as strong in us as is the sense of color. Then we shall be able to
tell differences of tones which are nearly the same, as readily as we
can now tell two varieties of yellow, for instance. A bit of
perseverance in this and the beauties even of common sounds shall be
revealed to us.