Pasquale Bona · section 3 of 4

Preliminary Remarks

Before undertaking to read the First Part of this method, it is necessary that the pupil should have a knowledge of the elementary principles of music, and above all of the different kinds of notes and rests and of their relative time-values, common time, and the effect of the dot and slur. For the Second Part a knowledge of all the various kinds of time, of the scales and note groups of different forms and their values is essential. The Third Part is devoted to a study of everything that pertains to ligatures (tied notes) embellishments etc., etc.

Rhythmical Articulation consists in pronouncing the name of each note precisely as though the words were being read, with this difference, however, that the voice must sustain the word for the duration of time indicated by the note named; and should the latter have a greater time-value than a quarter-note, to repeat the vowel in a connected, sustained manner for as many quarters as are contained in the time-value of the note to be sounded. To facilitate the movement of the tongue in groups of two, three, four, or more notes, their different names must be pronounced fluently, yet connectedly, as if reading a word of several syllables, giving a special inflection to the names of notes that occur upon the strong beats.

As regards the rests, a rest of the time-value of a quarter-note is indicated by the word “One,”—of two quarter-notes “One,” “Two,” and so on, always beginning again with “One” whenever a rest is interrupted by a note, or occurs on any other beat.*) The word “One” is also used to distinguish the eighth-rests among the notes. The time-beats are indicated with the hand.

*) What has been said here about the rests is not to be put in practice until the pupil has learned the exercise; for this reason, silence must be maintained during the time-value of the rests as they occur.