Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

774 MUSICA. MUSICA.
stroy the consonance of the interval. In fact, when tones occur alternately. (See Crotch's Elements
a keyed instrument is tuned according to the equal of Alusical Composition, chap. ix.) The interval
temperament, the major thirds are too great by an called a semitone in the above descriptions is
interval little more than half of this (I7- nearly), therefore strictly neither equal to the modern major
and yet are only just tolerable. This subject is semitone, nor to half a major tone, but the ear
important, because it bears immediately upon the would hardly appreciate the difference in mselodyu.
question whether harmony was used in the Greek Besides these genera, certain Colours (Xp6al) or
music. specific modifications of them are enumerated.
\ An aggregate of two or more intervals, or rather (Eucl. p. 10.)
a series of sounds separated from one another by The Enharmonic had only one Xpoa, namely,
intervals, constituted a system. Systems were the genus itself as described above: it is commonly
named from the number of sounds which they com- called simply &poovia.
prehended. Thus an octachord was a system of The Chromatic had three: Ist. Xpc74sa roiatov,
eight sounds, a pentachord of five, and so on: and or simply XpfiAa, the same as the genus; 2nd.
usually, though not necessarily, the number of Xpjoua 6u6lxlov, in which intervals of three-eighths
sounds corresponded to the interval between the of a tone were substituted for the two semitones;
two extreme sounds. 3rd. Xp/ua 1aAaaitcv, in which intervals of one
The fundamental system in ancient music was third of a tone were similarly employed.
the tetrachord, or system of four sounds, of which The Diatonic had two Xpoat: 1st. adiToYoVl
the extremes were at an interval of a fourth. In vTro'vov,, or simply aiLdroTo, the same as the
modern lmusic it is the octachord, and comprehends grenu~'; 2nd. l8droov sUaAaKo'n, in which an inan octave between the extremes. The important terval of three-fourths of a tone was substituted for
and peculiar property of the latter system, namely, the second semitone (ascending).
the completeness of its scale, was fillly understood, The following table will exhibit at one view
as the name of the interval &ia 7raeuv' sufficiently the intervals between the sounds of the tetrachord,
indicates (see also Aristides, pp. 16, 17), but it was taken in the ascending order, according to each of
not taken in theory for the foundation of the scale; these Xpo'a, the tone being represented by unity,
or at any rate was considered as made up of two and two tones and a half being supposed to make
tetrachords. up a fourth, a supposition which is not exactly
The Genus of a system depended upon the dis- true, but is commonly adopted by the ancient
tribution of the two intermediate sounds of the writers as sufficiently accurate for their purpose.
tetrachord. The Greek musicians used three Ge- (See Eucl. Sectio Canonis Tlmeor. xv.)
nera:- I. Diatonic.... 1.otdOrovo (arToYov) 1,, 1.
I. The Diatonic, in which the intervals between, 1
tle four sounds were (ascending), semitone, tone, ar, 2, 4.
II. Chromatic 1. Xp. ua ('ovLa-ov) * - I`
tone:- 2. Xpaua 1ui'ALoY
2. XpSoya cSamcol'. -, k,al.
III. Enharmonic. a&povia......, ~, 2.
There seems to be little evidence that any of
the Xpdam were practically used, except the three
principal ones, &Ldrovop, Xp",ca, &aplmovia. But it
In. The Chromatic; semitone, semitone, tone, would be wrong to conclude hastily that the others
would be impossible in practice, or necessarily unpleasing. In the soft Diatonic for instance, the
interval which is roughly described as five-fourths
of a tone would be greater than a major tone, but
less than a minor third; now there are two intervals of this kind corresponding to the supeouarIII. The Enharmonic; diesis, diesis, double ticular ratios A- and 7, which ought therefore by
tone: — analogy to be consonant, or at any rate capable of
being employed as well as the tone and semitone;
and although they are not used in modern music,
or at least not admitted in theory*, nothing but
x 4 -experiment can determine how far the ear might
become accustomed to them. If. this view be cor(The second note is meant to represent a sound rect, the intervals of the tetrachord in the 8,Mironvo
half way between E and F, for which the modern tmaAucdv would probably correspond to the ratios
system supplies no notation.) }4,'13-, 8, and similar considerations might be apOf these genera the Diatonic was allowed to be plied to the other Xpoat.
the most ancient and natural, and the Enharmonic- The four sounds of the tetrachord were distinthe most modern and difficult; the latter however guished by the following names: ordcs — (sc. Xopa')
seems soon to have become the favourite with was the lowest; mvr57 or Vedim- the highest; 7rapvtheorists at least, for Aristoxenus complains that all
writers before his time had devoted their treatises * See Smith's Harmonics, sect. iv. art. 10. These
almost entirely to it, to the neglect of the two intervals exist in the natural scales of the horn,
others. (Aristox. pp. 2 and 19.) trumpet, &c., and are in fact used, instead of the
The only difference between the ancient and minor third and tone, in the harmony of the domimodern Diatonic is, that in the former all the tones nant seventh, both by stringed instruments and
are major tones, whereas in the latter, according voices when unaccompanied by tempered instru.
to the theory generally admitted, major and minor ments.