currently,
and also to write music, new to them, dictated by an instrument placed
out of sight or from the voice "vocalizing," they will all declare
that the thing is impossible.

The great composers and renowned performers are cited as examples of
what the ordinary methods have accomplished. No, replies Cheve: they
are exceptional organizations. The methods have not produced them.
They have, on the contrary, arrived at their proficiency despite
the methods, while thousands fail who might reach a high degree of
excellence but for the obstacles presented by a false system to a
clear understanding of the theory of music, which in itself is so
simple and precise. In the study of harmony especially, says the same
authority, does the want of a clear presentation of the theory produce
the most deplorable results. It has made the science of harmony
wellnigh unintelligible even to those called musicians. Ask them why
flats and sharps are introduced into the scales; why there is one
sharp in the key of G major and five in B major; why you spoil the
minor scale by making it one thing in ascending and another in
descending--that is, by robbing it of its modal superior in ascending
and of its sensible in descending. They will in most cases be unable
to answer, for neither teachers nor textbooks explain. The catechisms
found in most of the elementary works upon music are replete with
stumbling-blocks to the young musician. Mr. R. H. Palmer, author of
_Elements of Musical Composition, Rudimental Class-Teaching_ and
several other works, says in one of his catechisms that "there are
two ways of representing each intermediate tone. If its tendency is
upward, it is represented upon the lower of two degrees, and is called
sharp; if its tendency is downward, it is represented upon the higher
of two degrees, and is called flat. There are exceptions to this, as
to all rules." This is deplorable. Music is a mathematical science,
and in mathematics there is no such thing as an exception to a rule.
But to quote further from the same catechism: "A natural is used to
cancel the effect of a previous sharp or flat. If the tendency from
the restored tone is upward, the natural has the capacity of a sharp;
if downward, the capacity of a flat. A tone is said to resolve when
it is followed by a tone to which it naturally tends." How long would
novices in the science of music rack their brains before they would
comprehend what the teacher meant by a t