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Show MUSICAL ACCNTIULUSTRATED A Wltne E,plBiM th. $ faction of the Court. At a trial in the court of kine bench as toan alleged piracy of the "OH J bsh Gentleman," one of the first wh-nesses wh-nesses put into the box was cJl "Now, sir," said Sir jJes rSt his cross-ammation of Cooke, "you say that the two melodies are identical but fwTKat 8aid'". replied Cooke, "was that the notes tn the two arrangements are the same but with a different accent -the one being in common while the other is m triple time; consequently the position of the accented notes is different in the two copies." "What is a musical accent?" Sir James flippantly inquired. "My terms for teaching music area guinea a lesson," said Cooke, much to the merriment of the court. "I do not want to know your terms for teaching," said the counsel, "I want you to explain to his lordship and the jury what ia musical accent." Sir James waxed wroth. "Can you see it?" he continued. "No," was the answer. "Can you feel it?" "Well," Cooke drawled out, "a musician mu-sician can." After an appeal to the judge the examining counsel again put the question. "Will you explain to his lordship and the jury who are supposed to know nothing about music the meaning mean-ing of what you call accent!" "Musical accent," rejoined Cooke, "is emphasis laid on a certain note just in the same manner as you would lay stress on any word when speaking in order to make yourself better understood. I will give you an illustration, Sir James. If I were to say 'you are a donkey,' the accent ac-cent rests on donkey; but if instead I said 'you are a donkey,' it rests on you, Sir James, and I have no doubt that the gentlemen of the jury will corroborate me in this." The story is more personal than polite nevertheless, it is well worth telling as an instance of forcible illustration. It is useful, too, since it may 6erve to impress upon the minds of that very large circle of people who plume themselves on being musical some faint notion of what accent in music really is. It is the outcome of that wonderful invention, in-vention, the division of music into bars, but for which musio might still be only the magical accomplishment of a few. Gentleman's Magazine. |