e style of the composer shows as clearly in the form which his music
builds as a man's character shows in his handwriting. Other
possibilities of variation are introduced by the kind of instrument upon
which the music is performed, and also by the merits of the player. The
same piece of music if accurately played will always build the same
form, but that form will be enormously larger when it is played upon a
church organ or by a military band than when it is performed upon a
piano, and not only the size but also the texture of the resultant form
will be very different. There will also be a similar difference in
texture between the result of a piece of music played upon a violin and
the same piece executed upon the flute. Again, the excellence of the
performance has its effect, and there is a wonderful difference between
the radiant beauty of the form produced by the work of a true artist,
perfect alike in expression and execution, and the comparatively dull
and undistinguished-looking one which represents the effort of the
wooden and mechanical player. Anything like inaccuracy in rendering
naturally leaves a corresponding defect in the form, so that the exact
character of the performance shows itself just as clearly to the
clairvoyant spectator as it does to the auditor.

It is obvious that, if time and capacity permitted, hundreds of volumes
might be filled with drawings of the forms built by different pieces of
music under different conditions, so that the most that can be done
within any reasonable compass is to give a few examples of the leading
types. It has been decided for the purposes of this book to limit these
to three, to take types of music presenting readily recognisable
contrasts, and for the sake of simplicity in comparison to present them
all as they appeared when played upon the same instrument--a very fine
church organ. In each of our Plates the church shows as well as the
thought-form which towers far into the air above it; and it should be
remembered that though the drawings are on very different scales the
church is the same in all three cases, and consequently the relative
size of the sound-form can easily be calculated. The actual height of
the tower of the church is just under a hundred feet, so it will be seen
that the sound-form produced by a powerful organ is enormous in size.

Such forms remain as coherent erections for some considerable time--an
hour or two at least; and during all that tim