On the introductory matter necessary for musical exercise.

Chapter One.

Although many follow the science of harmony with far greater breadth while neglecting the use (which is that of the theorist) than those who are trained in the practice itself, yet no science believes that they could have reached the first use of harmony without it. For why should I commemorate those most excellent ancients who first wrote on theory, when posterity itself celebrates Orpheus, Amphion, Linus the Theban, Arion, and Timotheus, whose concerts—in use, I say—one softened beasts, another stones and forests, another aquatic monsters, and yet others smoothed rustic and rude minds? It is established that these were most famous both by the institutes of the discipline itself and by the action itself. Nor would I rashly bring the Pythagoreans themselves and the Platonists and Peripatetics into the middle, by whose command the use of both natural and artificial voice is highly commended for training adolescents. This is asserted for the reason that when Aristoxenus, musician and philosopher—witness Marcus Tullius in the first book of the Tusculan Disputations—affirmed that a certain tension of the body itself, such as in song and strings, which is called harmony, thus various modes are made from the nature and figure of the whole body just as sounds are made in song. There are also those who posited idle powers unless they are brought to acts, for which reason they feel that the exercise of the melodic voice has contributed most to harmonic consideration, not seeking multitude for it but applying perfection to it. Therefore, musical action is the motion of sounds effecting consonances and melody. These sounds, indeed, we collect in vain by reason and science unless they have been grasped by exercise itself. Hence, it is necessary to know their intentions, remissions, and consonances not only by mind and reason but by the habit of hearing and pronunciation. But I will not deny that this musical action itself is most discordant with Grammar, since in that [Grammar], while a short or long syllable must be used, we do it entirely by the authority of those who came before us; a Musician, however, must serve the rational measurement of voices, and must not pronounce one or another syllable before he knows it is permitted to him by the measure of voice and time. And although this was described more conveniently at the beginning of the second part of this work, the divine Augustine is known to have proven it with effective arguments in his second book on music. Truly, four genera follow sonorous voices. The first genus is of those who are concerned with prose, expressing their concept in words rather than in melody.

Orpheus

Amphion
Linus
Arion
Timotheus
Aristoxenus
Philosopher
Tullius

Music dissents

from
Grammar

Augustine

four
genera of
musicians