THE FOURTH PART OF CHRISTIAN PSALMODY, CONSISTING OF A VARIETY OF TUNES OF APPROVED EXCELLENCE, SUITED TO THE VARIOUS SUBJECTS AND METRES OF THE PSALMS AND HYMNS, CONTAINED IN THE FIRST THREE PARTS. BOSTON: 1813. C. NORRIS & co. PRINTERS. THE Gamut is a scale of musick, comprising seven primary notes. It is divided into three parts, Bass, Tenor or Treble, and Counter, which are distinguished by three different Cliffs; and to the notes are applied the seven letters, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and the four names, mî, fâ, sōl, lâ.-Every eighth note is considered the same in nature as the first; and is always on the same letter repeated, and of the same name. THE GAMUT. F Cliff. BASS. G Cliff. TENOR or TREBLE. C Cliff. COUNTER. Sol GO C O Fa A O La F E D G-O-Sol- DO Sol BO Mi A-O-La GO Sol --F. E Of the seven primary notes five are whole tones, and two are semitones. In the natural scale, the semitones are between B and C, and E and F; but their places may be altered by flats and sharps.-Mî is the governing note. Ascending in order, above mî the notes are fâ, sōl, lâ, fâ, sōl, lâ; descending below mî they are lâ, sōl, fâ, lâ, sōl, fâ; then mi returns. MUSICAL NOTES AND RESTS. 1 Semibreve,2 Minims,4 Crotchets,8 Quavers, 16 Semiquavers,32 demisemiquavers The first character in each bar is the note; the other is the rest; the figures, prefixed to their names, shew their proportions to each other. NOTE. The semibreve rest always fills a bar. OTHER MUSICAL CHARACTERS. Flat. Sharp. Natural. Dot. 6 Figure 3. Hold. Ledger line. Slur. Choosing Notes. Marks of Distinction. Repeat. Brace. Bar. Double Bar. Close. :S: The five lines, on which the notes of musick are placed, are called a Staff. A Flat at the beginning of a tune changes the place of mî; and set before a note, sinks it half a tone. A Sharp at the beginning of a tune changes the place of mî; and set before a note, raises it half a tone. A Natural restores a note from flat or sharp to its natural sound. A Dot or Point of Addition, affixed to a note or rest, adds one half to its original length. The Figure 3 or Mark of Diminution, reduces three notes to the time of two. A Hold prolongs a note indefinitely. Ledger Lines are added when notes ascend or descend, beyond the compass of the staff. A Slur connects any number of notes which are to be sung to one syllable. Choosing Notes give liberty for singing either, or both of them, at pleasure. Marks of Distinction, direct that the notes be sung with emphatical distinctness. A Repeat is placed at the beginning and end of a strain, or passage, which is to be sung twice. A Brace shews how many parts move together. A Bar divides the notes according to the time. A Double Bar denotes the end of a strain of the musick, or of a line of the poetry. A Close shews the end of a tune. TIME. Time is of three kinds, Common, Triple, and Compound. Of Common Time there are four Modes, which are distinguished as follows: The first three modes have a semibreve or its equivalent in each bar; the last has a minim. The first mode has four beats to a bar, two down and two up, each in a second. The second mode is like the first, only one fourth faster. The third mode has two beats to a bar, each in a second, one down and one up. The fourth mode has also two beats to a bar, one fourth quicker than the third. In all the modes of Common Time, the accented parts of the bar are the first and third. Of Triple Time there are three Modes. |