MUSICAL COMPOSITION

128 MUSICAL COMPOSITIONbe arrived at below the pitch, and the whole body ofsingers will flatten. In the sixteenth century the skipof the major sixth was not permissible. The underlyingreason for that rule is still apparent from theexample given above. The addition of instrumentalaccompaniment to the voice has enlarged its possibilitiesin attacking difficult intervals, owing to the suggestionof chords and modulations which it gives; but theinclination often is to presume too far upon the voiceand to trust to the instrument for helping it over thestiles, with the result that the part becomes ungratefulto the singer and what is usually termed "unvocal."The interest is speedily transferred to the instrument,and the singer is made to play a secondary rOle in thecombination. The human voice is not adapted forhops, skips and jumps, except where declamationperemptorily demands them. Their abuse inevitablyleads to such a deterioration of the organ as no wiseartist will face. He will not forego his chances ofmaking a livelihood to please any composer, and quiterightly does not care to sacrifice poetry of motion todangerous gymnastics. The student must always keepin mind the practical fact that ungrateful music for thevoice is always ineffective in its appeal to the listener.We will first consider vocal music from the standpointof the song, with pianoforte accompaniment.Whole stacks of songs are written and published whichare of no practical use for performance whatever.They are paper songs, which may be even musicallyinteresting, but which, from the unpractical manner inwhich they are written, are obviously unsuited forperformance and unattractive to the singer. This isone of the many reasons why the writing of a good