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    GREEK MUSIC.THE general conviction that the true nature of ancient Greek music ispractically incomprehensible in modern times arises from many causes, ofwhich the most potent are:-1. That hitherto all explanations have been based on the extant formaltreatises, which deal either with the decadent elaborations of solo cithara-

    playing, or the purely theoretical calculations of the self-styled Pythagoreanschool, which latter professedly despised the actual performance of music.2. The attempts to elucidate the subject make no allowance for the factthat the extant specimens of noted music extend over a period of at leasteight centuries, and no one explanation is likely to fit either the whole ofthese or the casual references to music to be found in general Greekliterature.3. Thanks mainly to Aristoxenus, the modern mind has become sopermeated by the quarter-tone theory of the enharmonic genus, that even sosimple a record as the celebrated Euripides fragment has been generallyinterpreted as involving this minute interval. The arguments against thistheory, at least as regards vocal music, are weighty and almost conclusive;but their full development requires more space than is available here.This article is an attempt to summarise the main conclusions arrived atfrom a careful consideration of authenticated history, the representations ofmusical instruments, the complete notation, and the casual references tomusic of various Greek writers, especially Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch. Itis manifestly impossible to give the authority for each,statement, but a fewof the more important references will be given.It seems most profitable to begin with a brief chronological survey ofthe subject. The first solid ground from which we can start is the existenceof the Sacred Enharmonic Conjunct Scale,1represented in our nomenclature(in ascending order) by the letters

    E F F? A B BO D.The main reasons for certainty on this point are the universal tradition thatthe enharmonic was older than the diatonic, the fact that these notes are

    1 Greek scales are built up of two groups offour notes, called tetrachords, contained withinthe limits of a Fourth. When the uppertetrachord and the lower have one note incommon the system is called Conjunct (synem-

    menon), and the scale consists of seven notesonly; if the upper tetrachord is separatedfrom the lower by the interval of a tone, thesystem is called Disjunct (diezeugmenon) andthe scale comprises an octave.35 D2

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    36 J. CURTISrepresented without variation in the fifteen varieties of notation usuallyknown as modes, and the consideration that the approximate date of theintroduction of the octave system is well known.Indeed, without any appeal to history or notation, a very strong initialprobability in favour of its superior antiquity appears in the construction ofthe scale itself. It is well known that the Greeks determined their intervalsby the notes given by different lengths of string cut off from a Kanon (ormonochord). This apparatus consisted (see Claudius Ptolemaeus, I. 8, p. 18,Wallis, with diagram) of a single stretched string, with a fixed stopping-pointin the middle called the magas, and a movable boss, called the hypagogeus(Scholium in marg. MS. Harmonicorurn Ptolemaei Bibl. Reg., 1. i, c. 8)'which is used in the canon for various ratios, so that whatever parts aredesired may be cut off from the string to produce the corresponding sound.'If then the string were so stretched that the magas gave the highest noteof either of the Sacred Enharmonic tetrachords, the other three notes wouldbe obtained by adding to this length by means of the shifting hypagogeusits third, fourth, and fifth parts respectively. It may be asked why thesimplest fraction, i.e. the half, was omitted. The answer is that such anaddition would have produced the fifth below the starting-tone; and, strangeas it may seem to the non-musical reader, it is absolutely impossible to formany system based upon the fifth as an interval in which all the fifths shall beperfect,2and also the thirds.The next development in Greek music was the introduction of theDiatonic Genus, probably borrowed from Asiatic or Egyptian sources: atany rate, the most ancient of the Hebrew melodies used in the synagogues atthe present day show a very strong diatonic feeling, and their inspirationmust have been either Asiatic or Egyptian.The Diatonic Tetrachord retained the method of obtaining the twolowest notes by adding a third and a fburth respectively to the length ofstring required for the highest note, but the awkward gap between thislatter and the next lower one was diminished by the device of cutting offone-sixth from the length of string needed for the lowest note. Thus we getthe Dorian Diatonic Conjunct Scale, in our notation:-

    E F G A B5 C D.In addition to the intrinsic historical importance of this scale, there aretwo points in connexion with it of extreme interest as exemplifying thepassion of the Greek mind for the conservation of a perfect form of art whenanother nation would have discarded it in favour of a newer and more

    complex form. After the introduction of the octave scale, the seven stringsof the chelys continued to be tuned to this scale certainly up to the time ofPlato, and probably of Aristotle; and the retention of the letters for it in the2 Ourmodern justly intoned scale is repre-sented by the vibration numbersC D E F G A B C24 27 30 32 36 40 45 48

    and the fifth from D to A is representedby theratio 4 , which differs from the true ratio by a'Comma'n).

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    GREEK MUSIC 37notation served and still serves as the absolute measure of the pitch of thelatest development of Greek scales. These points, however, must be deferredfor later explanation. If anyone should doubt the efficiency of such a scalefor musical expression, it may be pointed out that the melody of ourNational Anthem is strictly confined within its limits.The latter half of the seventh century B.C.marks a crucial epoch in thehistory of Greek music-the introduction of the Octave System. This periodcovers the fall of the Phrygian kingdom, the official recognition of flute-playing by Sparta, and the life and work of Terpander. It is suggestedthat the fall of Phrygia may have played a part in the history of Greekmusic similar to the influence on Western learning and literature of thesack of Constantinople in the Middle Ages. At any rate, internal evidenceof the Greek instrumental notation proves that the Phrygian was theoldest instrumental notation, and was based upon the octave principle.Leaving the region of surmise and conjecture, and returning to authenticatedhistory, it is beyond doubt that Terpander during this period adapted theOctave System to the kithara. The seemingly contradictory statementsabout this great man have caused some to doubt his existence, but, iftime and space permitted, it could be shown that statements which appearto be categorical denials of one another have each their foundation infact when rightly interpreted. Suffice it to say here that the so-called'Defective Scale of Terpander,'which was really a tuning of the strings ofthe kithara, was E FG A B D E.

    And now it is necessary to say a few words about the characteristics ofthe two typical forms of Greek lyre-the chelys and the kithara.The chelys was a slightly built instrument, having at this stage sevenstrings and a tortoise-shell body; not provided with any means of modifyingthe pitch of any string during performance. It was the instrument ofdomestic and private art.The kithara was of very solid construction, furnished with a capacioussounding-box, and at this stage provided with seven strings, and stops whichallowed the original note of each string to be raised a semitone by thepressure of the left forefinger. The principle of this semitone stopping isnow generally conceded; but in case any doubter should remain, he ought tobe convinced by the following passage from Plato (Philebuws,56):Kat vy/wraoa a5 #aX'7tLK, 7r/Tel7pov eKcao'-T Xop&9 "t,

    7'oroxaceo'Oa"Q//PO/MLPfl93PEvovOrWOTE7roXz E/t7F//'lJov EXEtJvO /tL77cra?fES,o-r/tucpov3:7-b 849atov. [In all lyre-playing the pitch of each note is hunted for andguessed; so that it is mixed up with much that is uncertain, and containslittle that is steady.]

    The kithara was pre-eminently the professional instrument. Not onlywas it used in all public performances,but the kitharist was the teacher ofall music, including the chelys.The possibilities of Terpander's tuning can at once be seen by the

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    38 J. CURTISfollowing table, in which stopped notes are shown by italic small letters.The kithara could thus play these scales:-

    Enharmonic Conjunct E F ft A b5, B D.Diatonic Conjunct E F G A b5 c D.Diatonic Disjunct E F G A B c D E.The relation to the Octave System of the seven-stringed chelys,

    unprovided with any mechanism for semitone-stopping, demands consider-ation, though it seems so far either to have escaped or evaded attention.How could a seven-stringed instrument play an eight-note scale? Theanswer would appear to be that the upper octave of the lowest note was'magadised,' i.e. played as a harmonic, on the lowest string.The evidence for such a statement and all that it implies is necessarilyindirect, as both Aristoxenus and Plutarch complain, the former that theolder musicians left incomplete and unsatisfactory records behind them,the latter that the older or paedeutical style is almost forgotten in his time.In an article of this length such evidence must be confined to a singletestimony, that of Aristotle (Prob. xix. 18): 'Why is the concord of theoctave alone sounded (on the lyre) ? For they magadise that, but no other.'It may also be pointed out that no other means of producing the eighthnote has yet been suggested; that the chelys had only seven strings, and novisible method of stopping for nearly the whole of the 'Best Period' ofGreek art, if we are to trust the vase pictures; and, quite incidentally, thatthe same method of producing the octave is at present in use by Welshharpists. The controversial point as to the meaning of the word jLdya&v,from which tayarayCte is derived, is here noticed, though space does notadmit of its discussion. It is to be noted that vase pictures show that thechelys admitted of semitone modification in tuning (not during perform-ance) by means of thongs plaited on the tuning bar, and engaging thestrings, capable of being tightened or relaxed at will.With the Octave System established, and the means provided for alteringthe note emitted by a string either of chelys or kithara, the next develop-ment3 of Greek music would naturally be in the direction of altering theintermediate notes of the Tetrachord.These variations gave rise to different scales which were known by thename of pptoviat. (Monro notices that the word Jpptovtais used for a scaledown to the time of Aristotle, being afterwards replaced by Trponrol or T6vor,but does not attempt to explain the significance of the change.)This system of scales, which lasted up to the time of Pythagoras withouta rival, can best be explained in connexion with the thonged chelys whichcontinued to use it at least down to the time of Aristotle. For convenience'sake,4let us number the thongs capable of raising each string thus:-

    3 It is not intended to affirm that this hadnot been done before; but we have no record ofit direct or indirect.4 As a matter of fact, 1 and 4 were Oeoyyoll

    eaow'rrs, and were not modified.

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    GREEK MUSIC 391 2 3 4 5 6 7E F G A Bb C D.

    The tightening of thong 5 produced the Dorian Apppovia:-E F G A BO C D E.By tightening 2, 5, and 6 was obtained the Phrygian cappova :-

    E F# G A B C? D E.For some unknown reason, possibly connected with its alien origin, the

    Lydian aippoviawas of a lower pitch, and needed a preliminary slackening ofall the strings by a turn of the tuning-bar. The thongs 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 werethen tightened, and the result, as nearly as it can be expressed in modernnotation, was:- E, F G A B?B C D Er.This appears to be exactly like our modern scale of E? major, but it must beremembered that the key-note (Mia-q) was not E5, but A?.Another set of aCpp/ovlatwas obtained by screwing up the strings bymeans of the tuning-bar. These, known as the Ionian, Aeolian, and Syntono-Lydian, will be shown when dealing with the notation.There remains but one other acppovla, he Mixo-Lydian, and this wasproduced by leaving all seven strings slack, so that the seven lowest notescorrespondedexactly with those of the Conjunct System. The scale wasE F G A B, C D E.This scale played as we play a modern scale has a most weird effect, andmany people have doubted whether such a sequence can ever have beenaccepted as a scale; but if the experiment be tried on the piano of startingon A, descending stepwise to the E, ascending thence to the upper E, andreturning to the A, the effect will not be found at all unsatisfactory. Beforequitting this branch of the subject for a time, let it be pointed out, that asthere were seven strings to the lyre, so there were seven

    pApp/ovlatto be

    played upon it, a state of things eminently satisfactory to the logical mindsof the philosophers.With the advent of Pythagoras5 comes a new crisis in the history ofGreek music. Perceiving the inconvenience of re-tuning in passing from onescale to another, he added an eighth string to the kithara, with the object ofavoiding such necessity, at any rate in the case of two scales, the Dorian andthe Phrygian. This contribution to the development of Greek music hasbeen erroneously described as 'completing the octave' (sc. the so-calledincomplete scale of Terpander). This is obviously absurd: even if we couldimagine the Greeks using such a defective scale for a century and a half, itis well known that Pythagoras recommended that all melodies should beconfined within the compass of an octave, a ridiculous precept unless theavailable compass of the kithara were greater. It appears that, recognizing

    1 fl. 540-510 B.C.

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    40 J. CURTISthe identity of the last seven notes of the Phrygian appova with the firstseven notes of the Dorian as regards succession of intervals, he added anotherstring to the kithara tuned to the lower D, and thus created the Phrygian

    poTrO- D E F G A B C D.And here we have the beginning of the great schism in Greek music.The theatrical players on the kithara eagerly seized upon and furtherdeveloped the idea of playing the various scales by extension of compassinstead of re-tuning, while the philosophic and conservative elementpassionately repudiated the innovation and clung to the old app~oviat.These latter, as Aristoxenus shows,6 were the school known as the Har-monikoi; it is a mistake to suppose that the Greeks were divided into twoopposing schools, Harmonikoi and Pythagorikoi. Aristoxenus betrays anequal contempt for both; and, whereas the Pythagorikoi concerned them-selves neither with the varieties of scales nor the practical performance ofmusic, the real division was between the upholders of the ancient apppovlatand the advocates of the 9earpUcot 'rp07rot.This seems a suitable place for an earnest protest against the use ofthe word ' Mode' in connexion with Greek music. The Roman ecclesiasticalmodes, from which the word has been borrowed, are admittedly differentfrom the systems bearing the same names in Greek music; and the greatestconfusion has been caused by the translation of ap/tovia and 7pd-ro0, twonames belonging to conflicting systems, by the single word 'Mode.' If thestudent of philosophy will read his Plato again, taking aptovia not asabstract harmony, nor as a 'mode,' but as a Harmonia such as has beendescribed, he will find that many of the comparisons with human life acquirean increased aptness and significance.The principle of the TrphOroShaving been established, its votaries werenot slow in extending its application. Whether the extension was made byPythagoras or his followers there is no evidence; but it is plain that theomission of the F and the depression of the lowest string to C would givethe Lydian tropos in addition to the other two. The stopped notes are givenin italics: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

    C D E f G A B c D E.And as a further extension, the lowering of the lowest string to B wouldgive the Mixo-Lydian tropos as well as the other three:-

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8B c D E f G A B c D E.It is equally obvious that this eight-stringed kithara would play theSyntono-Lydian tropos:-

    (3) 4 5 6 7 8fG A B cDEf.6 i. 7.

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    GREEK MUSIC 41At some undefined period during this stage the names Mixolydian andSyntonolydian fell out of use, being replaced respectively by Hyperdorianand Hypolydian.Any further development of the kitharistic system would evidently bein the shape of the addition of strings, the creation of new 7Tphorotaturallyaccompanying them.Phrynnis (fl. c. 445 B.c.) added a ninth string to the kithara, whichimplies the invention of the Hypophrygian tropos :

    (B c D E f) G A B c D E f G.Aristophanes here supplies us with a passage 7not only descriptive ofPhrynnis but incidentally strongly confirmatory of the distinction between

    Harmoniai and Tropoi:--'And then he used to teach him to learn a song, in the correct positionfor lyre-playing (literally, without crossing his legs), such as "Dread Pallas,conqueror of cities," or "A Far-flung Cry," straining to a higher pitch theharmonia which our fathers handed down to us (i.e. using the Hypophrygiantropos). But if any of them should seek to tickle the ear by tricks of art,as by executing flourishes such as those intricate ones that the moderns useafter the example of Phrynnis, he used to be beaten with many stripes forobscuring the Muses.'Melanippides (died before 412 B.c.) added a tenth string, thus makingpossible the Hypodorian tropos.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10[B c D E f G] A B c D E f G A.

    Timotheus (446-357 B.c.) added an eleventh string to the kithara, thelowest one (proslambanomenos), making possible the Hyperdorian tropos,and extending the compass of the instrument to a double octave:-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11A B c D E f G A B c D E f G A.

    Although no special significance seems to attach to the point, it is interestingto observe that, throughout all these additions to the strings of the lyre,A, the original Mese of the lyre, remains as nearly as possible the middlestring.The subsequent extension of all tropoi to the compass of the doubleoctave resulted in the destruction of all distinctive character in the varioustropoi, so that Aristotle could say8 that the Phrygian tropos was so eminentlysuited for dithyrambic composition that a poet trying to composea dithyrambin another tropos was likely to pass unawares into the Phrygian. Thesame tendency to exuberance extended to the intonation. Solo kitharistsin the contests vied one with another as to who could produce a new andoriginal tuning of his instrument, so that Aristoxenus defines at least sixof these tunings; and these vagaries, aggravated by the mathematical

    SClouds, 961 et seq. 1 Pol. viii. 7.

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    42 J. CURTISincursions of the Pythagorikoi, reduced the theory of music to suchinextricable confusion that it is small wonder that by the time of AnonymniScripta de Musica (ed. Bellermann) the whole edifice had been reduced tothe notation of the Diatonic Genus of the Lydian tropos.The most impregnable, and at the same time the most fruitful sourceof information about Greek music, is the vocal notation. From the completevocal notation (ao-pa?0TeXeLO) we can gather without doubt the relativepitches of the tropoi. This can be sufficiently here shown by the comparisonof two of them, the Dorian and the Phrygian. It must be premised that thecomplete list of characters for each tropos in the ai-'r0,aTaT?eXetoJ onsistsof eighteen letters, made up of the signs representing the fifteen notes fromAA to a inclusive, plus the three letters indicative of the three notes(B,, C, D) of the older conjunct system. The coincidence of the Conjunct Dwith the Octave D affords a decisive conclusion as to pitch. In the subjoinedlist of characters,9the three conjunct notes are placed in a separate line, andthe characteristic octave of each scale is blocked out by double bars.

    fOK HDorian VLC) llII TflTnMAHf FIB*J.Phrygian -7FlIrt )lnMfIor) U *1MW(LH IRemembering that the last note within brackets is D, and that thevocal octave of each scale begins with the first intelligible letter, we can

    hardly resist the conviction that the Dorian tropos extended from E to E,and the Phrygian from D to D. The same principle applies to all the othertropoi, and the final check of its accuracy is that the Hypo-Dorian vocaloctave is thus found to extend from A to A, and we have the authority ofEuclid for the fact that 'the Hypo-Dorian tropos can be played either fromthe lowest to the middle string of the fifteen-stringed lyre, or from themiddle to the highest string.'The total number of characters used in the vocal notation is sixty-six ;but if we strip away from each scale all the non-alphabetical signs (with oneexception) and make the assumption that the sign il shall stand for E-asit certainly does in the oldest scale, the Dorian-we shall get a system ofscales which I here submit as being the Harmoniai of the philosophers.The assumption may appear an enormous one; but when we consider thatthere was an older system of which former records had been lost, that thisexplanation coincides with the remarks of Plato and Aristotle to a surprisingextent, that Aristoxenus describes 10 the system of the Harmonikoi as aclose-packed scheme of scales (caraTrrvucW^aat flovXo0,Uvotq b8dypaCiep a),and that each new development of Greek music was superimposed on thepreceding one, it has primd faccie claim to serious consideration.

    9 It may be necessary to explain that eachline representsthe signs for the white notes ona piano in ascending order from A to thedouble octave above it.10 i. 7.

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    GREEK MUSIC 43The accompanying diagram of four of the classic Harmoniai as recon-structed from the vocal notation, with the approximate modern equivalents,should almost explain itself. The scales are arranged in descending musicalorder to make clearer the alphabetical relations of the notes, and the ConjunctEnharmonic Scale has been added for several reasons,one being that it servesin a measure to co-ordinate the rather conflicting testimony of the otherscales, and another that it uses the letter N which is not to be found in anyof the Harmoniai. The modern musical equivalents are described as approxi-mate, because the Lydian was not exactly a semitone below, nor the Ionianexactly a semitone above, the norm of the Dorian and the Phrygian.

    VOCALNOTATIONOF THE HARMONIAI.Dorian H. . AM n T i fPhrygian. . r o I M nnLydian EZ I M P C RIonian . . AZ I K 0 C XConjunctEnhar- H Nofl X 0

    _ _ _ _ IZ _ _ _APPROXIMATE MODERN MUSICAL EQUIVALENTS.

    Dorian E D C I A F EPhrygian . . E D C I A F ELydian E. . D C AbeG F E?Ionian F E DCC GA FConjunct Enhar-monic . D IB A F#F

    EQUIVALENTS OF FIRST THREE AS TROPOI.Dorian E D CB A G FEPhrygian . D C B A G F E DLydian c A G FE D C

    But whether this theory of the Harmoniai be accepted or rejected,valuable results as to the intonation of Greek music are obtainable from astudy of this notation (which also undoubtedly served for the Tropoi, usuallycalled Modes). Before proceeding to this investigation, we must, however,exclude from our purview the Ionian scale, which does not conform to therules observed in the others, and was described by Heraclides Ponticus as 'astrange aberration in the form of the musical scale.'The first point that strikes the attention is the absolute symmetry ofthe two tetrachords in each of the three scales as written down. A furtherscrutiny will show that the letters A and = (or N) are lacking in the scheme.This is a very important omission, and one which goes a long way towards

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    44 J. CURTISproving that the Greeks used what we call just intonation in the tuningof their scales; also that they were aware of the inherent imperfection ofthe justly-intoned scale, viz. that the D a true fourth above A, and the Da true fifth above G differ by the small interval (a) known as a 'Comma.'In their anxiety to preserve continuity between the older Conjunct Systemand the Octave System, they were scrupulous in providing that both D's,though theoretically differing by a comma, should be represented by thesame letter. The difficulty of computing the size of intervals on a uniformplan they got over by pretending that the tone of separation between thetwo tetrachords was a minor tone, instead of a major tone. This, however,landed them in fresh difficulties as regards the size of various fifths; andtheir way of overcoming these was to reserve the letter N for the DorianConjunct Enharmonic, not using it for other scales; while they counted it inor omitted it in counting as was necessary in computing intervals. A similardevice was used with regard to the letters A and E. The complete proof orthese statements would be cumbrous to give, and somewhat dull to the non-musical expert; but it may be stated that in the complete notation, wherethe letters have to be repeated with a dash to mark an octave, the letter A'is frankly ignored altogether, as none of these counting difficulties appearin that portion of the scale.This parallelism of N and = (and of A and E) being conceded, theconsistency of the Greek notation becomes almost ideal. If we rememberthat the Greek mental picture of an interval would be the addition or sub-traction of a certain length of string on the kanon, we shall see how closelyit corresponds with actuality. The intervals of the Dorian tetrachord inascending order are E-F (hemitone), F-G (major tone) and G-A (minortone). The string-lengths corresponding to these four notes (E F GA) whenexpressed in the smallest whole numbers are 48, 45, 40, and 36. It will thusbe seen that the intervals between them expressed as length-differences (notas ratios) would be Hemitone . 3.

    Major Tone . . 5.Minor Tone 4.Now if we examine the equivalents of the three tropoi given in the lasttable, counting both initial and final letters in the lengths of our steps(as we do in modern harmony), we shall find throughout that

    E-F = Step of 2 = B-C = Hemitone.F-G = ,, ,, 5 = C-D = MajorTone.G-A = ,,,,4 = D-E = Minor Tone.The interval A-B, the tone of separation, does not count in the tetrachordalsystem, and we have already shown the dodge by which the Greeks avoidedits difficulty. It may be of interest to show that the older conjunct systemhad no such difficulty, and exhibited no weak or ambiguous point. Thecapital letters indicate the notes, and the small letters between show the

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    GREEK MUSIC 45measure of the interval: the modern equivalents of the notes are givenabove. EF G AB, C D

    flI Xkv TT p 11 0 :X K 0 H

    CD CD CD CD

    The subject of Greek intonation has received considerable attention formany centuries, the arguments in favour of one view or another having beenmainly derived from the various treatises from Aristoxenus to Boethius,with occasional references to the vocal notation. The parallel system ofinstrumental notation, however, seems to have been strangely neglectedso much so, that Grove's Dictionary of Music states that 'no rationalexplanation of the instrumental notation has yet been offered.' This isdoubtless largely due to the uncouth appearance of the characters used-a happy hunting-ground for the epigraphist. But wherever the strange-looking signs may have come from, the principle on which they are used issufficiently clear, and valuable results are obtainable from an analysis of thatuse. The governing factor in this notation is the use of three positions ofthe same letter to indicate (as a rule) three adjacent notes distant a semitonefrom one another. To give an example, E represents the lowest of such agroup of three, w (the letter turned on its side) the middle note, and 3 (theletter reversed) the highest. The signs thus treated are 6 R h E Fr-- FC 1< < I, and there are in addition a number of isolated characters, notablyTT,Z, 1. Now if we consider the grouping of the notes of the enharmonicgenus (octave system), the probable use of each will spring to the eye:-EF F? A BCC? E.An examination of the table of scales will amply confirm this impression, ascan be seen from the following excerpt of the normal octave in the threeclassic scales:-INSTRUMENTALNOTATION OCTAVEENHARMONIC).

    NOTE. GREEK NAME. PHRYGIAN. LYDIAN. DORIAN.

    E Nete. . ZNC# Paranete . . >C Trite . . . V -