ABSTRACT
Before, however, we go into this, it w ill be instructive to inquire a little into the history of harmony, in order to form an idea how it has grown up into its present state.
It seems to us, in the present day, a very simple thing, having given a musical scale, to sound several notes of it simultaneously. But, simple as this idea seems now, it has only been carried out in comparatively modern times. A ll the most ancient music we know is simply melodial, and wherever any clear descriptions of systems of music differing from our own have been obtained, the melodial succession of sounds appears to have been the only form of music considered practicable.
