elements, to which, on account of the shortness of their sound, it is hard, if not impossible, to give the long slide of the octave. These should be first taken up. Let each scholar in the class, sound each of these elements, as varied by the use of the ten slides, and the whole class repeat after him, the instructer taking care to note and correct all errors. This, after a little practice, will not be difficult. When all the slides can be well made on each of these elementary sounds, let the class proceed to a similar course of drilling on the third and fourth tables, which consist of words, selected to afford them practice on long and short syllables respectively. The class should not be considered competent to pass beyond this step, till they are able, any one of them, to sound correctly, and without effort, any slide that may be called for, and on any one of the elements or syllables.

Tables for practice on the simple Slides.

I.

ee, oo, a, a', a", o, ou, i.

II.

i', u, e, o', a"", e'.

III. all, old, fair, heal, dare, save, hail, thrive, you, I, he, hound.

IV. gone, will, sit, out, ice, ought, past, done, ask,

bite.

CHAPTER V.

CONCRETE PITCH-Continued.

COMPOUND SLIDES, OR WAVES.

THE last chapter has given an account of the simple slides of the voice, as they are commonly used in speech. We have now to consider a second kind of slides, called the compound slides, or waves. The slides mentioned in the last chapter have all of them only one direction, that is, they run either upwards or downwards, through a certain interval. In the compound slides, or waves, on the other hand, the voice slides, first in one direction, and then back again in the other.

Let the sentence, Hail, holy light,' be repeated, giving to the word 'hail' the longest possible sound, unaccompanied with any thing like positive emphasis, and avoiding carefully all drawling on it, and it will be perceived, by a nice ear, that the voice first falls a little in concrete pitch, and then rises again through an equal interval. It is found to pass, in either direction, through a musical tone. The wave is called 'the indirect equal wave of the tone:' indirect, because it terminates with a rising movement; and equal, because the interval passed through in one direction, is the same with that traversed in the other.

Repeat in the same way, 'all hail,' still avoiding all positive emphasis on the word 'hail,' but lengthening out its sound, without drawling, and the voice will pass through the same wave, but in the opposite direction.

It will first rise, and then fall, a tone. This is what is called the direct equal wave of the tone.' There is the same difference of expression between the two waves of the tone, as there was between the two simple slides of the tone. The indirect wave answers to the upward slide, in not finishing the clause, but requiring other words to follow it. The direct wave answers to the downward slide, in always giving the other expression.

Let the question be imagined to be put, 'you said Hail?' If this sentence be repeated as a simple ininquiry, with the same long sound on 'hail,' as before, the voice, instead of first rising a third, (as in the example given in the last chapter, where the word 'you' was sounded in its common, or rather short, way,) will first fall a third, and then rise again to where it started. This is what we call the indirect equal wave of the third.'

'I said, Hail.' Let this last word now have the emphasis naturally given, in the answer to such a question as the preceding, together with the same slow, serious utterance as before, and the voice will be found first to rise, and then to fall a third. This is an example of the direct equal wave of the third.'

'You said HAIL?' If the question be again repeated with more surprise and emphasis, but still with the same long sound, there will be on the word hail,' 'the indirect equal wave of the fifth.'

Yes, HAIL.' In this answer, more positive than the former one, we shall hear the direct equal wave of the fifth.'

In the same way, by again repeating the question

and answer, with increased violence, we may make the 'indirect,' and direct equal waves of the octave ;' but like the slides of the octave, these waves are scarcely ever used, except in conversation, they need hardly be practised on for speaking.

as,

The two equal waves of the semitone are easily explained. They correspond in expression with the slides of the semitone; that is, they are both plaintive in the expression, the indirect wave suspending the sense, and being used on words which are immediately followed by others, the direct wave closing it, and coming therefore at the end. They may be easily exhibited, by uniting the plaintive expression with slow For instance,

utterance.

'Pity the sorrows of a poor ōld man.'

Here the indirect equal wave of the semitone will fall on the words, 'poor' and old.'

I will be a good boy.'

Here the closing word, 'boy,' will exhibit the direct equal of the semitone.

The ten preceding waves have all received the the name of equal waves, from their ascending and descending parts being equal. But this is not the case in regard to all the waves that can be made. Wherever the two parts of a compound slide are unequal, it is said to be an unequal wave.' These unequal waves are, of course, very numerous; but as they have all of them very nearly the same expression, (that of contempt and ridicule,) it is not worth while to try to enumerate them. It is enough to state, that they

become more strikingly emphatic, according as the intervals of concrete pitch passed through, in either direction, are made longer.

6

The question your friend?', or the answer my friend,' may be made to exemplify this species of wave, the intervals of pitch employed in the waves being greater or less, according to the degree of scorn thrown into the utterance of the words 'your' and 'mine.' So, also, in the following example :—

Not think they'd SHAVE?' quoth Hodge, with wond'ring eyes,

And voice not much unlike an Indian yell,

'What were they made for then, you dog?' he cries— MADE? quoth the fellow, with a smile, 'to SELL!'

Here the words 'shave,' made,' and 'sell,' will exhibit the unequal wave.

Where, as on the word 'your' (in the first example,) or on the words shave' and 'made' (in the second,) the expression of interrogation is to be given, the slide ends with an upward movement, and is called

an inverted unequal wave; whereas on the other two words,my' and 'self,' on which there is no interrogation, the slide ends by running downwards, and is called 'the direct unequal wave.'

Of course, a wave cannot be made on any really short syllable, as the only way of making it, consists in lengthening the syllables on which it is to be exhibited,

These waves must all be practised on the two following tables, in the same manner as was directed for the slides in the last chapter.