Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 2, No. 9 (1928-06)

) June, 1928 The Phonograph Monthly Review ■/St r ” ! " ■ ... — .—** 325 than the actual sight of the players but also re- veals details of construction and inner melodies and harmonies which might otherwise elude the listener. By reading the score, therefore, the eyes are helping the ears more than by watching the performers and in the case of gramophone and broadcast performances much more than by contemplating the household furniture. A score is a series of staves, or groups of five lines, on which the different parts are written one above another so that every part may be read at once, and was originally so called because of the practice of “scoring” the bar lines through the entire series of staves. The modern and more convenient practice in orchestral scores, how- ever, is to break the continuity of these bar lines at certain places leaving spaces between the var- ious groups of instruments. The use of scores was at one time confined to professional musi- cians but is now shared by lovers of music of all classes and, to meet the needs of those who want to read or follow a score rather than play or con- duct from it, publishers have issued a compre- hensive selection of “Miniature scores.” These pocket editions are handy in size, reasonable in price and the best of them, such as those pub- lished in the Philharmonia Edition, are well printed on good paper. It is the privilege of a select few to be able to sit in an armchair and, with the aid of a score, to hear mentally the whole of a long orchestral composition, but to attain such a degree of skill requires a great deal of both theoretical know- ledge and practical experience. It is a mistake, however, to imagine that to follow music with a score calls for either a lot of skill or hard work. The eye very quickly acquires the habit of recog- nizing the appearance of melodic curves, the pat- terns of accompanying figures and many of the other details by means of which a composer ex- presses himself on paper, and I even know of persons who, without any knowledge of notation whatever, have increased their capacity for the enjoyment of music to a surprising extent by the intelligent use of scores. The following pages are therefore intended to encourage the veriest tyro to expend a few dollars in the purchase of miniature scores, to explain in simple terms the use and sound of the various instruments, the symbols used to express a composer’s thoughts, some of the mysteries of clefs and transposition, and generally how to use the scores acquired. Of great help in becoming acquainted with the sound and tone colour of the various instruments are two Victor gramophone records (Nos. 20522-3) of “The Instruments of the Orchestra” in which the separate instruments play short solos. In the succeeding chapters, references will be made to these and other gramophone records in order to illustrate the use and char- acteristic tones of various instruments. References to the scores of various works will also be made and the abbreviation “Phil.” will be used to indicate those published in the Phil- harmonic Edition of Miniature scores. CHAMBER MUSIC Chamber Music is more intricate than that written for a solo instrument but not so elabo- rate as orchestral music and as many composers have written some of their finest works in this form, the ability to read these scores is both a desirable end in itself and a useful means of in- troduction to the more complex scores of the or- chestra. The most perfect and important combination within this category is the String Quartet, the individual instruments comprising which are all members of the same family though they vary considerably in size. The smallest in size is the Violin. The string quartet includes two of these instruments, known as first and second violins respectively, and though the instruments are identical, they are given sep- arate parts corresponding to the treble and alto voices in a vocal quartet or choir. The appear- ance of the violin is familiar to all, but there is one component part which should be specifically mentioned as it cannot be seen, except by minute examination, and yet is so important that it is often referred to as the “soul” of the instrument. The quality and volume of tone produced is gov- erned largely by the resonance of the body of the violin and the air it contains. This resonance depends partly on the considerable pressure ex- erted by the tension of the strings on the front or “belly” of the instrument and in order that the back shall share in this pressure the belly and back are joined by a short post, called the sound post, which is placed inside the violin nearly under the bridge. It is this sound post which is called romantically the “soul” of the violin and much depends upon its size and adjust- ment. The four strings of the violin are tuned in fifths and sound the notes G (below middle C), D, A and E (all above middle C). The other notes on each string are produced by the fingers of the left hand pressing the string against the finger board, thus shortening the length of the string able to vibrate, and so raising the pitch of the note produced. This is called “stopping.” The tone of the violin is brighter than that of any of the other members of the string family and is almost as familiar as its appearance. The next member of the string family in order, of size is the Viola which is about two and a half or three inches longer than the violin. The four strings of the viola are also tuned in fifths and sound the notes C, G (both above middle C), D and A (both above middle C). Compared with the violin the viola is rather small in proportion to its pitch with the result that its tone is quite distinctive. It is powerful but rather dull and heavy in its lower register while its higher notes possess a slightly nasal quality.