Interval (music)

“ The minor second is extremely harsh, the major decidedly so, though not so extremely, and the augmented second but slightly. In ordinary musical usage the last is actually the same interval as a minor third, which is not looked upon as a dissonance at all; nevertheless the ear, distinguishing relations instinctively, classifies the combinations according to their context as having a dissonant or consonant significance. Thus when the context suggests the interval A♭ B♮, the mind will not accept it as final, but as a dissonance requiring resolution ”

“ For these ancient octave forms themselves another origin must be sought: we may, perhaps, surmise that they are what may be called the natural precipitates of all simpler melody. That these natural interval orders can be formed by a progression of fifths is a wonderful fact: wonderful, too, it must have been to these primitive theorists to see the generative powers of the fifth progression exhaust themselves in the formation of an interval order of twelve equal semitones. In their eyes the fifth progression became the natural foundation of all music. ”

“ The fixation of a definite interval-order which shall serve as the scale of their performances is the starting-point of Chinese musical theory. All the different pitches which are used in a given piece of music, taken together embody a certain set of intervals arranged in a certain order from low to high. The fact of scale in music is the fact that in general in the music of one age and race different pieces embody in this way the same order of intervals, or one or other of a few different orders. ”

“ But before we learn to know the chords, we must see from what they are constructed.
Each chord must consist of at least three notes, sounded together. When we strike only two notes together, it is not a chord, but merely an interval.
There are ten such intervals in music, which here follow; C being always taken as the lower note or root.
With respect to these intervals, the following remarks are to be made:
1st. Any key which we choose to fix upon, may serve as a root or bottom note to all these intervals; and consequently they may take place in all keys and in all octaves. ”

“ Singers almost invariably intonate them out of tune. When these intervals exist as constituent parts of an arpeggio chord progression, they are comparatively easy. As altered intervals these skips are given to instruments (instruments being capable of properly intonating all skips) when a dramatic effect is desired.
3. The diminished fifth is analogous to the augmented fourth. Being the inversion of the augmented fourth, it is [Pg 58] found as a scale interval between the seventh and fourth steps (te to fah) . The following exercise contains the diminished fifth built upon the tonic ”

“ It must not be supposed that the intervals in use in civilized music are wholly the invention of man. Many of the intervals, such as thirds, fifths, and octaves, are found to be quite perfect in certain animal cries and particularly in bird-song. ”

“ Measured intervals of time are the basis of all verse, and their regularity marks off poetry from prose; so that Time is thus the chief element in Poetry, as it is in Music and in Dancing. From the idea of measuring these time-intervals, we derive the name Metre; Rhythm means pretty much the same thing,—'a flowing,' an even, measured motion. This rhythm is found everywhere in nature: the beat of the heart, the ebb and flow of the sea, the alternation of day and night. Rhythm is not artificial, not an invention ”

“ The time-beat goes either by twos or some multiple of two, or by threes or some multiple of three, and the accent recurs at regular intervals of time, and is marked by dividing off the music into bars of equal length. Nothing is more important for a beginner to learn, and yet from the point of view of rhythm nothing could be more inadequate. ”

“ Again, some nations which have the diatonic order of intervals deviate slightly from it by habitually intoning some particular interval in a higher or lower pitch than it occurs in our tempered system. For instance, careful observers have noticed that the Swiss peasants in singing their popular airs are naturally inclined to intone the interval of the Fourth sharper than it sounds on the pianoforte. ”

“ Let any one attempt to follow a symphony with a metronome in his hand, and he will soon discover that if the metronome represents the æsthetically perfect rhythm, the orchestra represents a more pleasurable imperfection. Its accelerations and retardations carry on a continual conflict with the typical time of the music, yet that typical time is not only printed on every sheet, but is in the mind of every player. It is precisely so with verse.
It is true, of course, that the variations from regularity of rhythm are more numerous and conspicuous in verse than in music. ”

“ All rhythm presupposes quantity. Organ-pipe or harp, the musician plays by time. Greek or English, Chaucer or Pope, the poet sings by time. What is this accent but a stroke, an emphasis, with a successive pause to make complete the time? And what is the difference between this accent and quantity but the difference between a harp-note and an organ-note? otherwise, quantity expressed in different ways? It is as easy for matter to subsist out of space, as music out of time.—Mrs. ”

“ In any case, the only “ultimate” rhythmic element is the tendency to mark off rhythmic beats into pairs, with a stress on the first of each pair. Where this tendency is resisted, the mind will follow the line of least resistance, which will vary according to the pace and detail of the music. Thus in rapid triple time it is easier to seek duple rhythm in the grouping of bars than in the details within the bars ”

“ Rhythm is the oldest of the musical elements and there is no question but that the rhythmic appeal is still the strongest of all for the majority of people. Rhythm is the spark of life in music, therefore, woe to the composer who attempts to substitute ethereal harmonies for virile rhythms as a general principle of musical construction. Mere tones, even though beautiful both in themselves and through effective combination, are meaningless, and it is only through rhythm that they become vitalized. ”

“ TEMPO.—This refers to the degree of motion. The musical picture is not constant, but panoramic; we never hear a piece of music all at once, but as a panorama of successive sounds. Tempo refers to the rate of speed with which the scroll passes before our minds. Thus we speak of rapid tempo (allegro, and the like) , or slow tempo (adagio) , and so forth.
BEATS.—The beats are the units in our System of Measurement,—as it were, the inches upon our yardstick of time; they are the particles of time that we mark when we "count," or that the conductor marks with the "beats" of his baton. ”

“ Time is that quantity which admits of the necessary reduction to units (like the feet and inches of a yardstick) , whereby a System of Measurement is established that shall determine the various lengths of the tones, define their rhythmic conditions, and govern the co-operation of several melodies sung or played together. Time is the canvas upon which the musical images are drawn—in melodic lines. ”

“ As rhythm, then, a symphonic movement is like sublimated physical energy. As the first oscillations of its impulse strike our consciousness we are caught up into a world of movement which has the inevitability of star courses. We ourselves are all rhythm—rhythm imprisoned and awaiting release. In music we become one with all that [Pg 199] ceaseless movement or vibration without which there would be no physical or spiritual world at all. I say, then, that rhythm is the very heart of music ”

“ Yet, here too we notice the insignificance of the musical interval, while the strong pleasure in the tones different by 4 vibrations only refers probably to the complete fusion of the tones; there arises a direct enjoyment from the four waves of sound in every second, given by the beats. The pleasure-curve of these simultaneous tones indicates of course that the inhibition of the musical dispositions and expressions holds over from the successive to the simultaneous series. ”

“ In modern Music, the word Time is applied to rhythmic combinations of all kinds, mostly indicated by fractions (3/8 etc.) referring to the aliquot parts of a Semibreve—the norm by which the duration of all other notes is and always has been regulated. [See Time-Signature.]
Of these combinations, there are two distinct orders, classed under the heads of Common (or Duple) Time, in which the contents of the Bar [3] —as represented by the number of its Beats—are divisible by 2; and Triple Time, in which the number of beats can only be divided by 3. ”

“ The coincidence of the rhythm and the measure is an entirely particular case, which men have unfortunately tried to generalize, propagating the error that 'the first beat of the measure is always strong.' This identification of rhythm with measure has had the most deplorable consequences for music.... Rhythm, submitted to the restricting requirements of meter, becomes rapidly impoverished, even to the most desolating platitude, just as a branch of a tree, strongly [181] compressed by a ligature, becomes enfeebled and atrophied, while its neighbors absorb all the sap. ”

“ The one fact upon which Spencer always seems to rely is that the intervals of speech and the intervals of the most primitive chant are both indefinite. Even here, however, Sir Hubert Parry's book is unpropitious to him, for Sir Hubert insists on the obvious fact that indefiniteness [215] of intervals in early music is entirely a matter of lack of instruments by which to fix the various notes of a scale. ”

“ Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Timbre (or tone-color) .
179. Rhythm is the regular recurrence of accent. In music it is more specifically the regular recurrence of groups of accented and non-accented beats (or pulses) —according to some specified measure-system. Since rhythm implies continuity, there must usually be at least two such measure groups in order to make musical rhythm possible. (See p. 44, Sec. 97.)
180. A melody is a succession of single tones of various pitches so arranged that the effect of the whole will be unified, coherent, and pleasing to the ear. ”

“ Multi-and Poly-Rhythms Rhythm also reflects this age of unrest, and there have been decided changes which seem to return to the Middle Ages to the period of bar-less music writing. Instead of finding a piece written throughout in 3⁄4 metre or 4⁄4, it will be multi-rhythmic or poly-rhythmic. Multi-rhythmic means many shiftings from one rhythm to another; poly-rhythmic means a counterpoint of different rhythms all played at the same time. ”

“ Most uncivilized peoples are unacquainted with semitones, and use scales with full intervals. This is easily accounted for if we suppose that these intervals are the ones which represent the elementary intonations, and that they constitute a music near its origin. The need of representing shades of feeling brings about a progressive filling up of the intervals. ”

“ The six beats to which it is entitled are all occupied by the simple reiteration of the final melody tone, while the sense of "interruption" is imparted by the long rest in the lower parts.
It is by thus sustaining the rhythmic pulse, during the measure allotted to the cadence-chord, that the desired dual impression,—that of cadential interruption without actual cessation,—is secured. It is like rounding off a corner that might otherwise be too angular or abrupt. ”

“ Two Quaver Time (Germ. Zweiachteltakt, or Viersechszehntheiltakt) , denoted by 2/8 or 4/16 is also very uncommon: but examples will be found in the Chorus of Witches in Spohr's Faust, and in his Symphony 'Die Weihe der Töne.'
The forms of Simple Common Time we have here described suffice for the expression of every kind of Rhythm characterised by the presence of two, four, or eight Beats in a Bar, though it would be possible, in case of necessity, to invent others. ”

“ One great difficulty with such a differentiation of the three types of rhythms presents itself when one inquires into the objective regularity of the types; the fact is that music is by far the most regular in its time values, though it has more content than the sound series; and that just as great irregularities are possible in the bare sound series as in the rhythm of verse with its rich and definite content. ”

“ This progress has gone on until the present time, when two particulars of our music are exactly recorded—the pitch and the rhythm. The exact relation of every tone to the key note is ascertainable from our musical notation, and the precise degree of rhythmic importance appertaining to each tone according to its place in measure and in the larger rhythms. ”

“ The clock strikes the hour, the four quarters, and plays a tune three times over every three hours, either on the bells alone, the lyricord, or on both together. Three figures beat exact time to the music, and three seem to play on their instruments ”

“ The principle of Unity dictates that the beats which are associated in one and the same musical sentence shall be of equal duration. Every musician admits the necessity of keeping "strict time"—that is, marking the beats in regular, equal pulses. ”

“ Further, it is self-evident that the rhythmic weight of a tone is proportionate to its length, or time-value; longer tones produce heavier, and shorter tones lighter, impressions. The deduction from these two facts is, then, that the rhythmic arrangement is regular when the comparatively longer tones occupy the accented beats, or the accented fractions of the beats; and irregular when shorter tones occupy the accents, or when longer tones are shifted to any comparatively lighter pulse of the measure or group. ”