"•^•^ AP .*'\ I* .i^'* ^ *•.<>• <^' v*^^ ^- o"^ •^■•♦.*^c '**' '^^ <^. e • * •■ ' • ^ "t*^ rt^ . o ■ • ^ '^ .^ 5#v C* "o • • • ^^ ^ *^ ►www?* C.*'^^ •* ►ww\>c§** c'^^n -^H^o \V-^> \y/^ 'MSc> v./ Z^^'-. ^*.,** .k%r THE UNDERSTANDING CHURCH MUSIC: Whereby the names of the lines and spaces, are not altered, by the flats and sharps, FOR THE MILENNIUM. BY JOHN- STIIiIi-'WIIiIf, AUTHOR OF "THE LAST SPARK OF FREEDOM," The Odd Man's Tract, -X^-v.-^n. And so forth. ^^'L-^W^ THE NEW TEST-I-MENT. BALTIMORE: 1838. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court, in and for the District of Maryland, 'ds-y^ THE UNDERSTANDING OP CHURCH MUSIC. m, , December the 27th, 1837. tp/K .r D "^ '%& *° ^^'' ^"^^°"- Being inspec- ted by the Rev. William Finney of Harford county in Maryland, for the sake of shifting the (political) gamut upwards, or downwards, as occasion may re- quire, instead of shifting the (republican) siave. l^ut my understanding may be blinded in such a manner, that I cannot see the necessity of shifting the nntn T ' ?' T ^^® American church toleration J\i u^^^T^ ^T^^^ information. However some 01 the buildings do not front the west, with the wronL^ ri r^'^' '^l '""f^^ ^"^ '^^ ^^^' ^^°t foremost. Mark time in order for the republick. wit^ljr^Dv J'r'^'f ^" "^ ^^^'"^ ^" accordance with Ml. Dyer s four flats and sharp F, I am fully determined to ^ive mpnrv^ n t^,/ o '^"'^"iJy ^oiinH n., fh^ • V^enryj U the same natura sound on the given stave. Whereas, with one flat instead of seven, the third sound of the naturalkey s^und'rr' ^P t^^"::' ^"""^- Because thelbu h sound b^low C has become the first of the seven fo"nd?f'F°"t'^'^T"^".^ ^ "^^ octave from the sound of F. Whereby, C has become the fifth sound, being in conjunction with the singer's G, when he sounds the word SOL, two whole tones below his upper B; instead of being on the right hand (with the singer's first sound) in conjunction with F, which is on the left hand, outside of the stave. But, as it is the sound of B, that is the only sound that I must alter with one flat, to agree with all the teachers of Music in this world. All the FA, SOL, LAS, may still remain as they were on the natural key, just by sounding Me flat through the whole tune, without a natural to restore Me, in the same manner as you sound many sharps through part of a tune. As for my part, 1 do not wish to take Me from B, for the sake of shifting one semitone, and this implies that I cannot shift them both by Mr. Dyer's system, because the seventh sound for such a flat B, is that same sound, which was called the third sound on the natural key, because E is ihe seventh sound from F. And you know it is the third sound on every Major key, that is the only foundation for any semitone, excepting the Me, and the Me is the seventh sound on the aforesaid key, consequently, if that which was the third sound, to form a semitone for the natural key, has become the seventh sound, of a flat key, to form a semitone by the Me, I must retain one of the natural semitones, by taking the lower one (as E) for the upper one. VVell then, where is the lower semitone for this flat B, if it is not three tones and a half lower than the aforesaid E. To explain this by a parable, suppose you have a pole with seven numbers marked on it, one below another, and the law demands that you shall have no more than seven original numbers on this octave pole. However, some one else, by marking numbers below, has converted your third number (as E) into a seventh number. The next thing you may want is an axe, to cut the four numbers off, which are above that which was your third number, and when they are off, you may say the sound of these numbers are not altered, merely because they are not sounded at all by striking the octave pole. Every time tliis fellow adds four numbers ai the bottom, you will be under the necessity of cutting four numbers off at the top, on account of the law that is herein stated. If B is flat only, I do not shift the FA, SOL, LAS, but I sound B flat through the whole tune, or part of the tune as the transition may require, because I cannot alter the sound of the lines or spaces, not even the sound of A in the space below Me, let alone the sound of C in the space above. Any transition that may be wrought in us indivi- dually, has nothing to do with our transposition in the government. But nevertheless, you will always find me a whole tone above the Minor key, whether I am fiat or sharp, because there is but one semi- tone above me, even on the Major key, whenever you begin with Henry Clay, until you sound me again. Question. What will become of the righteous, if the powers of righteousness are shaking on earth, in every de- 1# partment of political Music, similar to that shaking which was spoken of concerning the downfall of Jerusalem, and recorded in the 21st chapter of Luke, at the 26th verse. The spirits of the brave. Are not inclined to vengeance, Although they try to save. Lead us not into temptation as some do, but nev- ertheless, deliver us all from evil, if you can. Signed Hope. N. B. The inscription of the money may belong to the Cesars, but the money itself belongs to them that earns it, and the tax money belongs to the public at large. F— E B oD— A a |c G ■sB— 6 F- ^A- E F C E-^B- D A F E- D C 7 SCALE. The Singer's Stave. LA SOL -FA- LA -SOL- FA -ME- LA •SOL- FA -LA- SOL FA o 8 MR. Fulton's answer. To John Still-will, Professor of Music, You still appear to be the same inquisitive Musi- cal being that you were last winter, or your docu- ment which came to me is a mistake. You seem to be inquiring into a subject which you seem to un- derstand perfectly. And therefore, I deem it un- necessary for me to attempt to enlarge upon this difficult science Your writing is high and a sub- stantial proof of your acquirement, because you have reached far beyond the Musical composers of modern or ancient times: and struck a new and un- trodden path, by which you outstrip even prophecy. My advice to you is the motto of Davy Crockett, go ahead, and you will accomplish as much as did Petropindo when he strove ten yeais to get an iron ring on the horn of the moon, in order that he might make use of it as a locomotive to carry him to the skies. It is a lamentable fact that Mr. Dyer is dead, otherwise you might challenge him for a spar, with semibreves and so forth. C is the natural key of the Major scale, and C its octave, and so it is with all the rest of the letters used in Music. Question. Where are the relative Minor keys, to all the Major keys, if they are not young Adams men; and where are the relative Major keys, to all the Minor keys, if they are not old headed Clay men. Cago. Mr, Fulton — Sir — As one of the Dyers I have lived among the dead, But taking your advice I may be holy lead: Whereas I now ask the following question respect- ino- the fallibility of the Protestants, as well as ail the Popes, in preserving the origmal sense ot bcrip- ture. Question. Who was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, according to the present translation, as it is found in the first chapter of Matthew at the Ibth verse, comparing this 16th verse with the 2od verse in the 3d chapter of Luke. . Whereas, the huts, ifs and ands, are not all in their proper places. I ask this question because Matthew says that Jacob begat Joseph, and Lu^e reads as though it was Heli, merely because the word, but, is not found in this printed matter be- tween the word Joseph, and the word which in the last clause of this 2.3d verse in Luke's third chapter. This verse says that Heli was the father ot Joseph; just as much as we read in the 31st verse of the same chapter that Nathan was the son of David, which no one has ever disputed. , ny - f But the next question is, whether the offspring ol Nathan, which is given in the third chapter ot Luke, could be expected to be the same, as the offspring of his own brother Solomon, that is given in the first chapter of Matthew. ,, r ' *o I wish the reader to pay a particular attention to this matter, because it is a merry-caU, whereby an everlasting faith may be established by history on this subject. 10 See the first book of Chronicles, third chapter at the fifth verse, because that will prove that Solomon and Nathan were whole brothers, having the same father and the same mother Concordia Day, 1838. As for Thomas Jefferson being in accordance with me, will become self-evident, because I hold it to be my will, that all men should be considered legitimate, being born equal respecting their father mheritance, as well as religious and political rights. For my part, I will admit, that I cannot declare my generation, although I believe I have three sons now living, that were born in the city of Philadel- . phia, by the name of Still-will. ;?•«« N. B. God is not God of the dead. I fancy they were destroyed in hell, by the natural book of death, because they acted contrary to the natural book of life. I also fancy, that they did not en- deavor to leave the world for posterity, better than they found it. Wo unto them that go into the lake that burneth as an oven, with charcoal, nitre, und brimstone, where the worm of evil contention, dieth not, until thg subject is destroyed. Far better for such people, had they not been born — again. General Jackson, in his letter to the editor of the Globe, July 23, 1837, said, "I hope no treasury notes will be issued." However, 1 do not wish the reader to ima<^ine that I am about to confute Mr. Van Buren alto- 11 gether, with General Jackson's arguments, because I differ with them both, about the present mode of banking. For instance, if the congressmen are to be the directors in Mr. Van Buren's Bank, it appears evi- dent to me, that their private property should be made subject to seizure by LAW, for all the trea- sury notes they issue, that is any thing more than drafts, or actual due bills for real value received be- fore these notes, drafts, or due bills, are issued. This should be the case, because the people are the stockholders of the public treasury, and their private property may be subject to seizure on the high seas and elsewhere, in case a foreign nation should hold a great number of these treasury notes, when our rulers might wish to breed a war, by not paying them on demand, similar to the breeding of the war in Baltimore, against the Bank of Maryland, on the 8th, 9th -nd 10th of August, 1835. And so it is, that the stockholders private pro- perty, may be subject to seizure for the debts of the ^company or nation. . - ♦v ^ " Question. How is it, that any man who pays a tax, might read his receipt in a public newspaper, as weU as every item of the public expense. This is published in the briefest and most econ- omical manner, for the want of greater resources. Finished the 9th of March, 1838. Prudence. 12 Saint Stephen's accusers said,* In the Acts of the Apostles, sixth chapter and fourteenth verse, *We have heard [this Stephen] say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place [meaning old Jerusalem] and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. *Wherefore saint Stephen made answer. In the Acts of the Apostles seventh chapter and thirty-seventh verse, *This is that Moses, and again, This is he. Now, it appears evident to me, that he had a right to change his own customs, by his own suffer- ings, wherever they might appear wrong to him, as from the experience of the Jews, as well as from the experience of the ancient Edonites that were before the Jews. Signed, evE backwards. See Revelation 19th chap. 15th verse. ■^^a^ »» - 1 • ^ -^^^j>^ % •••«> k ' • AT * LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1 |! 1 1 11 M ll M II 1 ii M II Ml 1 III 1 1 1 1 1 li 1 II li lill 1 1 1 I 11 ' i i i II II 1 011 896 398 2