that the metre varied with the subject and the
skill of the poet. This, in fact, is the precise statement of Father
Duran,[24] who speaks of the native poets as "giving to each song a
different tune (_sonada_), as we are accustomed in our poetry to have
the sonnet, the octava rima and the terceto."

Sec. 5. _THE VOCAL DELIVERY OF THE SONG._

Descriptions of the concerts so popular among the Nahuas have been
preserved by the older writers, and it is of the highest importance
to understand their methods in order to appreciate the songs
presented in this volume.

These concerts were held on ceremonial occasions in the open air, in
the village squares or in the courtyards of the houses. They began in
the morning and usually continued until nightfall, occasionally far
into the night. The musicians occupied the centre of the square and
the trained singers stood or sat around them. When the sign was given
to begin, the two most skillful singers, sometimes a man and a woman,
pronounced the first syllables of the song slowly but with a sharp
emphasis;[25] then the drums began in a low tone, and gradually increased in
strength as the song proceeded; the other singers united their voices
until the whole chorus was in action, and often the bystanders, to
the numbers of thousands, would ultimately join in the words of some
familiar song, keeping time by concerted movements of the hands and
feet.

Each verse or couplet of the song was repeated three or four times
before proceeding to the next, and those songs which were of the
slowest measure and least emotional in character were selected for
the earlier hours of the festivals. None of the songs was lengthy,
even the longest, in spite of the repetitions, rarely lasting over an
hour.[26]

The tone in which the words were chanted is described by Clavigero,
Muehlenpfordt and other comparatively recent travelers as harsh,
strident and disagreeable to the European ear. Mendieta calls it a
"contra-bass," and states that persons gifted with such a voice
cultivated it assiduously and were in great demand. The Nahuas call
it _tozquitl_, the singing voice, and likened it to the notes of
sweet singing birds.

Sec. 6. _THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT._

The Nahuas were not acquainted with any stringed instrument. They
manufactured, however, a variety of objects from which they could
extract what seemed to them melodious sounds. The most important were
two forms of drums, the _huehu