The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1884-03-06
sNIFFLEs' EAR FOR MUSIC.
Or two ears for same-Prireipally about
Musie-singers and not singers(
Feel sorry-Flop but never
Ty-Trus and False
Voices, &c.

love to think of the past. and q
good many things have passed, conse-
9uently there are good many things to
think about some, pleasant, some nor:
am imaginative, fond OF muslng; L
have an ear for music, and this IS one
of the things will talk abont; why 1t
is said that man has AN ear for mu-
sic when he has TWO is Incompetent
sible to me. Both OF my ears are mu-
sical, tenderly so, and false note
crates on them with horrible discord.
contend that there are singers, While
at the same time there are not singers,
and strange to say, those who are not
good singers pride themselves on being
the best. Do you know that there are
men and women who have no musical
talent whatever, and who yet by close
training acquire theoretical knowi-
edge of the science, and sing and play
BY NOTE. who are yet Ignorant OF the
divine sense of music-that Is have no
ear for music-who are OF that class
the bard Shakespeare had in mind,
as being without music in their souls.
/ feel sorry for them, a great sorrow,
and yet feel as sorry for those VINO
have musical ears, when those ears are
lacerated by discord Of false sounds.
One can listen to melody, and the
sweet sound enters the ear, the braln
feels it. and he can reproduce 1t with
delicious effect. Another has no ear,
he hears it, he tries to repeat 1t, but he
can no more give you the sweetness OF
that melody than he can fly; he may
flop his arms and reach out to the cir
clalambient air, but he fails to rise.
Music indeed hath charms, and happy
is the man who hath music in bis
soul.
Music is an essence-a divine, liv-
ing essence.
A dozen men and women form them
selves into club or choir. and sing
scientifically, and by note, but one or
two of them may have false voices, or
are false in someparticnlar note. Well,
they sing, and the consequence is, they
produce tliscord. To sensitive ear
this is painful. They sing from the
book, and they sing with the voices
given them by nature, butnevertheless
their singing is all wrong, and pain IS
given where pleasure only was inten-
ded. Diminuendo or crescendo makes
no difference to them, they sing loud
when it should be soft, low aad sweet.
Some voices are coarse, not bass; there
is difference between coarsencSs and
bass; some voices are shrill, and pierce
the tympanum like atwo-edged sword.
Oh that 1 might flee to the mountains,
End listen to some sweet diapason OF
the grand old woods-natTe's orches-
tra-at such times. / donot blame any
man or woman because they are not
gifted with perfect, sweet, natural vol
ces, for God has made them just what
they are, only attempt to show that
there exist all kinds OF voices, voices
false, voices true, voices soft as Aolian
harps, voices harsh and rough us cross
cut saws, and that there is such thing
as natural ear for music; that there
are singers, while there are those who
are not singers. There is no remedy
for this, at least none that is easily
available. 1t might be remedied by
some master of music selecting the ma
terial for q choir-throwing out the
false, and retaining the true and the
perfect. l have written this simply be-
cause have an ear for music, or pair
of them, and to show, so far as l know.
little Of what there is in music, and
not in the spirit Of criticism, or with a
disposition to carp, and far from a de-
sire to wound. I have not i word to
say for or against any Of the choirs OF
the different churches Of the town,
they do their best, and are entitled to
the gratitude of the public, but-1 still
say that there are voices, and there are
not voices. True voices, and false
voices.