Many have written upon mufick as a science, but perhaps no one plainer, with more modesty and good fenfe, than Dr. William Holder, and his cotemporary, Christopher Simpson.

Dr. Holder was fubdean of his Majesty's Chapels Royal from the year 1674 to 1689; when he wrote a treatise on musick, entitled, The natural Grounds and Principles of Harmony.

Christopher Simpfon was a famous lutanist, and served in the loyal army, commanded by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle; he published in 1677 what he calls, A Compendium of Practical Mufick.

Very few have written upon vocal mufick, but no one largely and fyftematically, though very many have profeffed to execute and teach it.

Pier Francefco Tofi hath given fome very ufeful hints in his "Obfervations on the florid Song" which the Reader will meet with in the following sheets.

THE

THE THEORY OF SOUNDS.

In pursuing this defign, the first and leading points of inquiry will be into the nature of founds fingle, fucceffive and conjunctive.

of fingle Sounds.

To inquire how found is propagated by the air, whether in straight lines or circular, by vibration or in undulation, might be matter of amusement rather than of utility; but a confideration of founds themselves, and their difference, is very neceffary and of great importance, though perhaps little entertaining to thofe who have not attended to them: Sounds, tones, and voices, are of two kinds, articulate and inarticulate.

Inarticulate founds, in contradiftinction to noises and clangors, fuch as those of wind, water, thunder, fcreaming, howlings, may be produced agreeably by certain percuffions on a glass, drum, bell, or by air through tubes and every kind of wind instruments.

Tones arife from a ftroke, touch, or preffure upon ftrings and wires, of different fizes and tenfions, or by pinching them with the nail or finger, called pizzicotto.

Voices, thofe efpecially of the human fpecies, the most agreeable, are formed by the mouth opened wide, and by the lips, which shape them, clofing with rotundity in the lower tones, but open in the upper, with rotundity, expreffed by the letters a, e, i, o, u, and in the words aw, eat, ye, ob,

woo.

These founds, pure and fimple, or compounded, are the elements of vocal mufick and language; accordingly they are named in Latin vocales, vowels, or vocal founds, from the Latin word voco, to call out aloud and audibly.

When the vowels or vocal founds are nicely tried, it will be found, that only three of them can with ftrictnefs be confidered as purely fimple and independent, namely, aw, ye, woo; the others, being not fufficiently diftant or feparated from them, may be called intermediate. Thus between a in our words all, tall, fall, which

we

we will call the firft, open, deep and broad found, and the thin narrow found of i in him, fill, come a fecond open found of a in far, father, gravity, hallowed, fhall, fhalt, man, mane, and a third, expreffed by ea in mean, and by e in men; fo likewise between

i

ye and u woo, come the founds of in no, note, none, fon, fun, run, gun; which laft found in none, fon, fun, run, gun, I would call the open u like the French ẻ feminine in le, je, to distinguish it from that in the words full, pull, which let it be named the close or shut u, woo,

Again, these founds by nature, or in their mode of prolation, with respect to time and each other, are either long or short. Thus the open broad found of a in all is naturally long, as is alfo the fecond in father, mane, but in man it is fhort; fo is e in men, i in fin, but in feen it is long o in note is long, but in not, none, it is fhort: u in fun, run, is very fhort, but in foon it is long.

When two or three of the fimple vowels are joined together, and made to produce a mixed found, they are called diphthongs

and

and triphthongs, from the Greek words diphthongoi two founds, triphthongoi three founds. Inftances of diphthongs are ai in the word day; oy in boy; ua in quarry; ei in eight, either, eye; ue in queft, well; ou in out; iu in few: Of triphthongs are w, a, y, in way; u, 0, y, in buoy, or buoyant; and u, a, i, in quail.

Diphthongs, fome are proper, and fome improper, fo are triphthongs.

Proper, where each found is diftinguished and audible, the firft coalefcing or melting into the other, and forming but one fyllable, as in the words day, quail, eight, eye, queft, out, few, now, word, way: and improper, where only one fimple found is heard, as a in fault, awe, ought; o in fword, know, knowledge; i in buify.

Obferve, each of the vowels, even in diphthongs and triphthongs, is liable to be changed in the hurry of fpeech into the found of the open z, and become very fhort, as i in bird, ou in marvelous, iou in gracious, glorious.

Articulate founds arise from gentle stops or interpofitions, and quick removals, of

the