davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

Vests action in going up with his ace
Of diamonds on the first trick cannot be
too strongly censured The bidding
plainly showed where the diamonds lay
and West should have realized at once
that a re-entry would be established In
dummys hand with the ace of diamonds
out OF the way. Anxiety TO lead a sup
porting card in his partners suit could
not be accepted as an excuse for Vests
depression.
The Importance Of limiting dummy's
chances OF re-entry 10 his partners pos
session OF possible surplus OF small
cards In his long suit far outweighed
any other consideration. East's opening
lead was bad. North's early double
showed only too plainly his great
strength In the suit. The top-of-sequence
lead OF the Jack Of clubs not alone for
the value OF the suit itself but for the
advantage of position promised In the
heart suit was unquestlonably Easts
best opening 1t is hardly necessary TO
add that with the queen OF diamonds
eliminated as n re-entry and tho spade
suit properly blocked. North's no-trump
declaration would fail at any adverse
suit opening
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

Score-Love-all, rubber game.
South declared one royal and East over
called with one no trump when the
bidding came to him. His king guarded
promised protection in spades. with the
lead coming from South and only little
bolstering 10 his diamonds was needed
10 insure safety 10 an otherwise strong
hand
South passed. but North declared two
royals. with sufficient strength to justify
his declaration. East switched to clubs,
declaring three In the suit. He probably
realized that If he failed TO name his
suit now. an increase In the adversaries'
declaration would put the bidding at his
next opportunity beyond the range OF
safety. That he correctly surmised the
opponents action was evident when
South made n declaration OF three royals.
This ended the bidding.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
INNATE MELODY IN SCALE.

The temptation Is strong to look upon
the pentatonc scale as the Oldest. as II
certainly is the most widespread and the
most seryiceable. Of intervallc systems
II is the scale In which melody may be
said TO be naturally innate Play al ran
dom on the black keys Of the pianoforte,
and so you keep symmetry OF period and
rhythm in mind you cannot help produc-
ing an agreeable melody II will be pen
tatonic. The history OF the pentatonic
scale has bafiied Investigators. for II Is
older than history. China has musical
instrument called hiu,Ii. the invention OF
which Is said Gantasticaly. no doubt TO
date back 10 B g. $500 II omits only the
FIVE tones Of the pentatonic scale. Instru-
ments with the same limitations and quail
ities have been found among the remains
Of the lost civilizations OF Mexico and
Peru, and are still In existence In Nubia
and Abyssinia. have mentioned Zulu
-dnEe which is In my possession-a little
instrument 80 stoutly built that IL Is Ike
ly TO survive centuries. II has pentatonlc
tuning down 20 two middle tongues. which
emit strangely aherrant tones. The key
- p-Hhts lu' iVuhH'H "" 'ic T'"' ''''''
the descending order. D-fat. E-nat and
B-hat: on tho other. B-hat. r. D-hat and
A-fat Tho instrument Is played by
plucking or swapping the metal tongues
with the thumbs: any two plucked by
thumb simultaneously produce an agree
able concord. Between the right and left
rows OF tongues lie the two which give
out the strange. Wild notes 4 and Il. How
these tones were melodically introduced
only a musician hearing the instrument
plaved nv a native could tell
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
UNWRITTEN TONES.

Another obstacle to its rendering is
the fact that tones are frequently EN-
ployed which we have no musical char
acters to represent. Such. for example
Is that which have indicated as nearly
as possible by the fiat seventh in Great
Camp Meetin'.' Hard Trials and others. 70
SAYS Thomas p. Fenner. in the preface
TO Cabin and Plantation Songs" and he
continues: These tones are variable in
pitch, ranging through an entire interval
on different occasions. according to the
inspiration Of the singer. They are rarely
discordant, and even add a charm 70 the
performance" Miss Emily Halloween s
calhoun Plantation Songs bear evi-
dences Of having been more carefully
noted than the Fisk or Hampton collec-
tons, though made at a much later date.
In her preface Miss Hallowell says: Il
have tried 10 write them down just as
they were sung. retaining all the pc
culiarities OF rhythm. melody. harmony
and text: but those who have heard these
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

Intervallic Peculiarities
Of the eSongs-Varia-
tons from the Dia-
tonic Scale.
Chapter vi.


OF the 527 songs examined I have set
down in my table 3S1 as being in the
major mode To these. as emphasizing
the essentially energetic and contented
character OF Afro-American music, not
withstanding that It is the fruit of slav
cry, must be added III which are penta-
tonic OF the 331 major songs twenty. or
a trihc more than one-sixteenth, have a
fiat seventh; seventy -eight-that is, one
fourth-have no seventh, and forty-five, or
nearly one-seventh, have no fourth.
Fourth and seventh are the tones which
are lacking In the pentatonic scale, and
the songs without one or the other Of
them approach the pentatonic songs in
what may be called their psychological
effect. These are the only variations Of
the major scale which can be set down as
characteristic of the songs In the case
OF the songs in the minor mode, eight,
fraction under one-eighth. have a major
sixth; over one-half have no sixth at all.
and over one-third have the leading tone
.rnajor seventh. which is not an element Of
the minor scale proper. but with the major
sixth has been admitted through the use
or accidentals to what musicians call the
harmonic minor scale. In the case Of
twenty-three songs I have set down the
mode as mixed or vague. because the
scales do not conform TO either the major
or minor system but, in part. 10 both.
or have elements which are obviously
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
Pentatonic System
Significance of Flat
Seventh Part
Singing Of
Slaves.

is now felt as the essential element OF tho
dominant seventh chord of the sub dom
inant key B-fat. In "A Great Camp
meetin'" the corresponding tone leads
into this key as the song is sung and as
it appears in the books; but it must be
observed that the harmonization was
made by Mr.. Fenner. who has not told us
to what extent he received hints from
his singers The Dahomans seemed salts
fed to treat the E-fat as a grace note
and found qualification for their sense OF
repose in the f major triad suggested by
the concluding c. When l consulted Mr..
Arthur Mees who gave particular atten-
ton to the ecclesiastical modes when
student of Weitzmann. in Berlin, as to his
opinion on the subject under considera-
ton, he wrote me: The use OF the fat
seventh seems TO be quite common 10 old
melodies. Just such a one as you quote
as being Dahoman / found in an attempt
ed deciphering OF Hebrew melodies from
Hebrew accents. II is, | think. true that
the dropping into the sub-dominant is
sort OF relaxation of musical fancy (Vor-
stelung). while modulation into the DOM
inant is a climbing up process, which can
be accomplished by not less than two
chords. Q mean two different roots.
do not feel a modulation with the intro
duction of the low seventh, but a melodic
popularity which is enforced and made
piquant by the mental effort (unconscious)
to retain the original tonality after the
fat seventh has been heard" Mr. Mees
added that he felt the scale of the phrase
Just as he felt the scale Of the Mixolydian
mode.
Some time afterward Mr.. Mees arranged
several negro songs for mems voices and
performed them at a concert Of the Men
delssohn Glee Club of New York. one
Of them was Weeping Mary" which IS
reproduced in this chapter. This brought
the topic Of how the negro songs ought
and might be harmonized into discussion
and Mr.. Mees wrote me:
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
NEGROES PEN-AToNIc SCALE.

There is significance which | cannot
fathom In the circumstance that the tones
which seem rcbellious 20 the negro's
sense OF intervallic propriety are the fourth
and seventh Of the diatOnic major series
and the fourth. sixth and seventh Of the
minor. The omission OF the fourth and
seventh intervals OF the major scale
leaves the pentatonic series on which III
OF the 627 songs analyzed are built The
fact is an evidence of the strong inclina-
tion of the American negroes toward the
scale. which is even more peryasive IN
their music than II is in the fOlksongs OF
Scotland. popularity looked upon as pecu-
liarly the home OF the peRtatonic scale
on this imperfect scale tho popular music
OF China, Japan and Siam rests; IL is
common. too, in the music Of Ireland. ana
have found many examples IN the music
of the American Indians and the people
Of Africa. The melody Of the Warriors
Song" in Coleridge-Taylo ylor's fine book OF
pianoforte transcriptions entitled 'Twen-
ty-four Negro Melodies" (Boston: Oliver
Ditson Company, is a pentatonic tune
from the Ba-Rorga country. and Cole
ridge-Taylor says OF II that its subject
rs certainly not unworthy OF any COM
poser-from Beethoven downward. IL Is
at once simple, strong and noble, and
probably stands higher than any other
example of purely savage music In these
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

I monds on a two-suiter of fair proportions.
North doubled.
Our correspondent states that when the
opinions were divided as TO the advisa-
bility of North's action.
CRITICISM OF NoRTH's ACTION.
II is difficult to imagine on what
grounds the critics OF North based their
objections. Admittedly North's hand is
not of type that lends itself readily TO
q double in any make. But what OF that7
A return 10 partners suit is always open
and qualms due 10 disappointing results
OF a double are also assuaged by thoughts
OF failure Of game hand at the partner
ship declaration For IT is certain that
the lack of a full quota Of high cards
20 insure the success Of double will
correspondlngy affect the success Of the
declarer's make
II is needless to add that intelligence
Immediately suggests a return to the
original declaration. where a partners
holding practically insures game, but is
useless otherwise.
A second adverse declaration seemed
somewhat doubtful. with such strength
in Norths hand. but East nevertheless
furnished 1t with declaration Of two
hearts.
South, OF course. declared two royals
and West surprisingly doubled. What
his ulterior motive was IS not easy to
imagine. North. however. overcalled with
two no trumps, a declaration seemingly
safe for game
The bidding now ran riot and as ap-
parently no well defined motives actu-
ated the various declarations. further
analysis is not attempted. After North's
declaration. the completed bidding is here
given, without comment. East declared
three hearts and South oyercalled with
three royals. West doubled. North de-
clared three no trumps, and with East
doubling, the bidding ended.
THE PLAY-oFF ANALYZED.
The play-off was described as follows:
East led the diamond and West went up
with the ace. West led his singleton
heart. and this gave North and South
their contract.
As the terse remark the queen Of
diamonds was the re-entry" ended the
writer's description OF the play, subse-
quent proceedings can only he imagined.
However as the play suggests that
south's spade suit made, the course Of
action after the second trick was limited
in scope and easily to be inferred.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
Common Errors lllustra.
ted in Many Hands
Which Are Sent
in for Criticism.

While 1t is impossible 10 review all Of
the hands sent by readers, many are Of
more than passing interest, and such
hands are promptly criticised. But a
large percentage Of hands upon which
correspondents ask criticism seem TO be
subject 10 common errors in overbidding
and III considered play.
Nevertheless, auction as an amusement
is greatly increasing, especially IN the
smaller communities and bids fair 10
become the most popular card game ever
enjoyed. Practically all card and social
clubs now recognize the interest in the
game as paramount, and It is the vehicle
Of social entertainment.
The following hand sent by W. +. A.
Of Boston marks the common fault Of
III considered bidding. The hand:
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
NEGRO SINGING.

It is necessary for a correct unde 20
standing of the nature or negro songs thaI
the testimony Of the collectors touching
some of these aberrant intervals be heard.
AS 1 have set them down. the fiat seventh
In the major and major sixth in the minor
are more or less approximations TO the
tones as they are sung but the circum-
stances Justify the classihcatons which l
have made. In my own defence. though
s. NAV not be necessary TO make one, !
may say that here l am entirely depend
ent upon the evidence adduced b, others;
] did not hear the songs sung in slavery,
nor did I come in closer touch with the
generation which made them generally
known than many of my readers who
heard the Jubilee Singers Of Fisk Uni
versity on their first concert tour 1t was
their singing which interested me in the
subject, and it was forty years ago that l
began my observations. which I was not
permitted to extend personally into the re-
Gions where research should have been
made. and where I vainly tried TO have II
made through other agencies.
"It is difficult" said Miss McKim
C'Slave Songs" page 81. "to express the
entire character of these negro ballads by
mere musical notes and signs. The odd
turns made in the throat and the curious
rhythmic effect produced by single voices
Ginning In at different irregular intervals
seem almostas impossible TO place on the
score as the singing of birds or the tones
of an Holian harp"
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

Score, North and South, 10; East and
West, l6, on the rubber game.
South declared one royal. On hands
such as South's. both high and low ini-
tial suit declarations Of major values have
earnest advocates. Many excellent rea-
sons have been advanced on both sides
10 support their contentious. Inssmuch
as neither side has demonstrated beyond
question the superiority Of its method.
criticism viii be deferred for the present
at least.
West overcalled South with two dia-
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
UTILIZING THE TRUMPS.

The utilizing Of trump strength in the
play OF hands on declared trump. while
not difficult feature OF play. is often
overlooked by many players. especially
those Of small playing experience.
The moot question whether the expert
whist player develops the better auction
player than the man who has learned
bridge and auction without previous ex-
perience In their ancestral game, has no
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
PROGRESS OF THE PLAY.

West opened with the jack of clubs and
held the trick He next led the two Of
diamonds through dummy's ten ace. The
declarertwon the trick with the queen In
dummy. Two leads OF trumps from
dummy brought all the opponents down
with South in the lead. His next move
was to put dummy In with the ace Of
diamonds A low heart from dummy was
flnessed with the ten and went to Vests
jack.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
~ AUCTION, BR!pGL CLINICS -

point here. except TO point 10 the handling
OF trumps. the establishment OF long
suits and inesse an argument in favor
OF the whist schoolinGs
II is hard TO get the inexperienced play
er 10 fully value the scientific use of
those features.
The following hand. sent by A r.. of
Brockville. ont. points out the fault Of
suCh play. The hand;
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
TIME FOR POSSIBLE FiNESSE.

Where the bidding has been limited TO
the initial declaration, often a danger
turks in the play by reason of opponents
non-d declaring. and possible losing finesse
should not be risked with n possible solid
suit against one.
The opponents may be willy or over
cautious in bidding. The time to take
such finesse is when the contract is as
sured and the losing fnesse can do no
harm or success is attainable by no other
means.
The following hand is illumlnative OF
the point:
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
MELODY AND INSTRUMENT.

In an article on Scottish songs In Groves
Dictionary OF Music and Musicians"
Mr. Frank kidson observes that "wheth-
er this pentatonic series was acquired
through the use Of defective instrument
or from the melodic taste OF singer or
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
Instances Of Proper Re-
gard for artnership
Obligations and
the Reverse.

The final count. Of course. showed two
heart and two club tricks for East anu
West. which saved the game for them.
South's finesse lost nothing, because
he had gone up with the queen two tricks
were still in for the opponents as the
cards plainly show.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

ly I'm an evident feeling for the sub
dominant relationship. or is a purely
melodic factor as in Gregorian music is
n question which | shall not undertake
TO determine. In the case Of the very
stirring hymn. There's a Great Camp"
meetin'." the harmonic impulse seems TO
me most obvious, though there Is no
other song which / have found In Whlch
the fat seventh strikes the ear with
such barbaric force as II does In this.
Here the first section Of the melody
closes with a perfect cadence I'm the
key Of E-hat; the second section begins
abruptly with the apparently unrelated
shout on D-fat-"Gwine 70 Mourn. and
Nebber Tlre"-which leads directly as
the effect shows. into the key Of A-hat.
the sub-dominant Of E-hat. The transi-
tion has a singularly bright and enliven-
ing effect and the return 10 the original
key is easy and natural
The specimen illustrating the use or
the fat seventh given in tho examples
Of African prototypes In the preceding
chapter was noted at the Chicago
Worlds Fair by Heinrich Zoellner the
unate enough in my visits 10 the Daho-
man Village TO hear the dancers sing.
Mr. Zoellner witnessed two choral
dances and wrote down the vocal music
which he placed at my disposal In tho
FIRST dance the Dahomans sang slow
phrase of two measures in G major
without the seventh over and over
again. while the band drummed In double
time and the dancers advanced and re-
treated without particular regard TO the
rhythm. some individuals indulging in
fancy steps ad lib Then there came
change OF tempo and rhythm. and also
in the manner OF singing and dancing.
The drummers changed from double 20
compound-triple time. the singers sep
arated into two choirs and sang the an
tiphonal Allegro phrase printed in the
table OF examples. and began 10 keep
step with absolute precision
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
A QUERY HAND.

The following is a hand sent US oS
member Of the Northampton CIuo'
South doubt and declared one no trump
West declared two hearts. North passeo.
East held the following hanu'
should his action have been and why'
The hand:
Spades-k--6.
Hearts--8.
Diamonds-Q-9.
Observation-Disclosures :
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

who have cultivated music for centuries
passes my poor powers OF understanding.
But the contemplation OF savage lie
seems TO have a tendency 10 make the
Imagination especially that OF sympa-
theuc people, slip It's moorings. My own
experience with Indian music has CON
vince me that the red man is markedly
unmusical That appears TO me to be
amply proved by the paucity Of melody
in the songs of the Indians, their ad-
herence 10 a stereotyped intervallic for
mula, regardless of the use 10 which the
song is put and their lack OF agreement
in pitch when singing. To the Indian
music IS chiefly an element OF ritual; its
practice is obligatory, and il is not per 50
an expression Of beauty for beauty's sake
or an emotional utterance which a love
for euphony has regulated and moulded
into thing Of loveliness II reaches It's
climax in the wild and monotonous chants
which accompany their gambling games
and their ghost dances.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

respects" Except that II lent itself so
admirably 10 artistic treatment. / cannot
see why this melody should have been
singled out by Mr.. Taylor for such
extraordinary praise; many OF the Amer
team slave songs are equally simple
strong and noble and more beautiful Yet
II is a specially welcome example because
il comes from Africa.
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
FINDING THE KEY.

In what key is this phrase? Not in c
minor as tho prevalence OF c. E-fiat and
6 would seem 10 suggest az first sight;
the A is too disturbing for that But II
one should conceive the phrase as being in
+. the explanation Is at hand. Then II
will be seen that the phrase illustrates
the use Of the fiat seventh This E-fat
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10

or other like songs sung by the colored
people Of the South will realize that II is
impossible to more than suggest their
beauty and charm; they depend so largely
upon the quality of voice, the unerring
sense OF rhythm and the quaint religious
spirit peculiar 70 the colored people who
have spent their lives on Alabama cotton
plantations untouched by civilization.
Miss Mildred J. HILL Of Louisville, who
gathered for me some of the most
striking songs in the collection from the
singing Of an old woman who had been a
slave in Boyle County. Ky. was careful
70 note all deviations from just intona-
tion. and from her songs | came TO the
conclusion that the negroes were prone
TO intervallic alterations not only IN the
case Of the seventh, but also in the third
This Is common phenomenon in folk
music II was the observation Of the
composer Spohr that rural people intone
the third rather sharp, the fourth still
sharper and the seventh rather fiat
Vagaries of this kind emphasize the fact
that the diatonic scale-the tempered
scale at any rate-as used in artistic
music is a scientific evolution. and not
altogether product of nature, as some
persons assume, who in consequence at
tribute the slightest fractional variation
from its tones 10 exquisite appreciation
Of tonal differences.
A NOTE ON INDIAN MUSIC.
The speculations on this point In which
some professed students Of the music OF
the North American Indians have In
dulged have reached q degree OF alb
surdty almost laughable. In one case
changes OF pitch, which were most obvi-
ously the result Of differences OF speed
in the revolution Of the cylinder Of the
phonograph used in the collection OF Zuni
songs were gravely declared 10 be eN-
dence Of a musical sense which could not
be satisfied with the semi-tones Of CIV
iized musicians. The melodies had been
recorded by treadle power and trans
nitted for notation by electric To prove
the valuelessness Of music thus obtained
I experlmented with a pitch pipe and "A
phonograph. and by varying the speed Of
the revolutions OF the cylinder In making
the record easily ran the pitch OF my c
up and down an octave like the voice Of
a siren. Why savages- who have never
developed a musical or ary other art
Should be supposed TO have more refined
sesthetic sensiblities than the peoples
New-York tribune., 1913-08-10
THE PROPER ACTION.

However, as the previous remarks on
the penalty for an unsuccessful flnesse
apply equally we'll here. a fnesse in
spades should he avoided. a play. though
the promise OF It's success would be slim.
should be attempted to bring about the
same result as n winning spade inesse.
South should have led the king OF spades.
and his play In dummy should be guided
by the fall second hand BY overtaking
a possible solus queen OF spades the much
coveted situation outlined previously
would be brought about
While the obstruction OF the queen OF
spades. placing It alone in Vests hand,
would create some havoc In the dstribu-
ton of East and Vests cards, It cannot
he denied even by those OF the most pene-
trant minds that an original deal. with a
lone queen of spades in Vests hands.
would be possible without materially
changing the bidding and the main points
OF the hand