U-

14 -

*

Ai

‘•Ctthtur

')&aßut

1 A Compendium of Maße,

as the Compafs of'Mufic dotb require. The Or-der of thofe Letrers is fuch as you fee in the ad*joyned Scale * to wit, in Afcending we reckonthem forward *, in Defcending, backward. Wherenote, that every EighthLetter, together with itsdegree of Sound ( whetheryou reckon upwafd ordownward ) is liili theIike, as well in nature asdenomination.

Together with thefeLetters, the Scale confiftsöf Lines and Spates, eaehLine and each Space be-ing a feveral Degree, asyou may perceive by the Letters ftanding inthem.

Thofe Letters are called Cliffs, Claves , or Keys *becaufe they open to us the meaning of everySong.

On the loweft line is commonly placed thisGreek letter f, which Guido Aretinus , who reducedthe Greek Scale into this form, did place at thebottom, to fignifie from whence he did derive it $and from that letter the Scale took the name ofGamma , or Gam-ut.

On the middle of the Scale , you fee three ofthofe lefters in Different Chara£lers$ of whichfome one is fet at the beginning of every Song. Theloweft of them is the FCliff, marked thuswhich is peculiar to the Bafs. The higheft is aG Cliff made thus $P and fignifies the Treble orhigheft part. Betwixt thefe two, ftands the C

Cliff, marked thusG Cliff, and a Fifth a

which is a Fifth below thefo above the F Cliff, as you

ttay obferve by compting the degrees

in theScale,