MUSICAL GLASSES
A GREAT INVENTOR’S HOPES
A HUNDRED AND FIFTY years ago the fashionable society of London went mad
over musical glasses. When the cloth had been removed and the company
were seated at the polished table, discussing the dessert and enjoying
the rare old port, it was considered a great attainment, after having
partially filled the finger-bowls, to be able to extract music by
casually rubbing a finger around their rims.
Strange as it may seem, even the great composer Gluck did not consider
this musical trick beneath his genius, and used to pride himself upon
the skill he had acquired in this kind of performance.
Mozart composed a song to be played in this manner, and many famous
musicians devoted their energies to perfecting a branch of the science
which they considered to be full of promise.
Even Benjamin Franklin turned his genius to the subject, and after many
experiments succeeded in inventing an apparatus called a Harmonica,
which he hoped would take its place amongst the recognized musical
instruments of his day. From various causes, which shall be explained
later, this invention was never attended with the success its author
anticipated.
Considerable knack is required to obtain a clear note from a glass. A
fine finger-bowl, preferably uncut, or a champagne glass, must be partly
filled with water, and the performer should then damp his forefinger and
also wet the rim of the glass. If the finger now be passed lightly but
firmly round a portion of the rim, after a few touches a clear ringing
sound will be produced. If at first this is difficult to obtain, pass
the finger several times in one direction--_e.g._ from right to left,
and then reverse from left to right. Having done this for a few seconds,
the glass will, in all probability, begin to sound.
As has been said, quite a knack is requisite to perform this with any
success, but the beginner should not be discouraged if failure attends
the first few attempts, as, after a little practice, which seems to
produce nothing but a sad groaning noise, the glass will suddenly begin
to ring. Having devoted a little patience to learning the exact touch,
the performer will find that the slightest movement of his finger
produces the desired note.
LITTLE WATER = LOW NOTE
The note given out depends entirely upon the amount of liquid in the
glass. The less water the lower will be the note; the more water the
higher it will be. Therefore taking eight glasses, or fine finger-bowls,
and filling each one to a different level with water, a complete octave
can be obtained.
The amount of water to be placed in each depends entirely upon the size
of the bowl and the texture of the glass, and must therefore be
determined by the performer himself. A keen ear will soon enable him to
get the glasses thoroughly in tune, and they can then be arranged before
him in the order of the notes in the scale.
For those who desire to attain proficiency in this art, it would be well
to color the water distinctively in each glass, in a manner similar to
the following:
1. C clear
2. D red
3. E blue
4. F yellow
5. G green
6. A purple
7. B orange
8. C black
(See Fig. 1.)
By this arrangement the performer can tell at a glance which glass he
must touch to obtain the note required. This is more especially
applicable to beginners, for, after some practice, the relative
positions of the glasses become fixed in the mind, and he knows
instinctively where to turn for whichever note is wanted.
HALF-NOTES
Half-notes can be made by adjusting the amount of water, which can be
colored accordingly; but for an ordinary entertainment the octave will
be found quite sufficient, and at any rate to begin with, will require
all the musician’s attention. When he can play quickly and correctly
with his first eight glasses, he can introduce half-notes, but it is
very unwise to start with too many vessels, for it will give both him
and his audience far greater satisfaction to hear eight glasses played
well than to hear a larger number played indifferently.
An important point to remember is to keep the finger and the rim
thoroughly wet. If this be borne in mind, the notes will come much more
easily and clearly, whilst the disagreeable droning sound will entirely
disappear. Care must also be taken to see that the glasses are steady on
their bases, as, in the case of champagne glasses, especially, they are
liable to tip up under the pressure of the finger.
With regard to the music suitable to musical glasses, it has already
been mentioned that Gluck and Mozart composed songs for this class of
performance, but the beginner is not recommended to attempt these until
he is very skillful. As some time will elapse before he can play even
the scale with ease, perfectly simple music should be all that he tries
to learn at first. When such easy, although somewhat hackneyed, pieces
as “The Blue Bells of Scotland” and “Annie Laurie” have been mastered,
he can try more advanced works.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Showing finger-bowls containing various colored
waters at different levels, each level indicating a different note.]
Many attempts have been made to discover some means of producing the
sound other than by rubbing the finger over the rim of the glass. Violin
bows and other similar contrivances have all proved ineffectual.
It would seem that the texture and surface of the human skin are alone
suitable for this purpose, and nothing else has proved successful. This
is the reason why musical glasses have not become more common, for the
continual rubbing of the wet finger over the surface of the glass
becomes after a time somewhat unpleasant. However, this hardly applies
to the short period that an ordinary performer would devote to an
entertainment. Yet such was the reason that caused the failure of
Franklin’s instrument.
The following few bars of music, being the opening phrases of a
well-known song, will prove very suitable for glass music, especially
when played at the dinner-table after the dessert has been discussed. To
simplify the matter for those who are not familiar with the usual
notation of music, the notes are given by name, thus enabling any one to
pick them out with ease:
E, E, E, F, F, G, F, E, D, E, F, G, C, F, E, D, C.