In the section on ‘[The Musical Glasses]’ we gave at length the details of construction of a glass harmonicon. An instrument of the same character made of wood is now, it seems, taking a place in the French orchestras, and we herewith give an [illustration] of the latest form of the so-called ‘Xylophone’ as used in Paris, with the names of the notes marked in the French manner, wherein the ancient ‘Ut’ does duty for the modern ‘Do.’
The curious in such matters must have noticed the wide distribution of the bamboo harmonicon. Some such instrument for the production of sharp, short sounds can be traced back to the old Greeks and Hebrews, and is found to-day amongst the Russians and Cossacks and Tartars of the Steppe, and the mountaineers of the Urals and Carpathians. Even in Sicily, in 1742, a wooden harmonicon was described under the name of the Xylonganum, and the wooden slips analogous to the nigger-bones laid on strings are mentioned as forming a German ‘music-maker’ more than three centuries ago. In 1830 Gussikow, a Russian, made a tour of Europe with a xylophone composed of wood and straws, the straws taking the place of the strings and tapes; and straws, it may be as well to observe, are excellent substitutes for the strings in a glass harmonicon. There is no difference in the treatment of these suspenders, and the arrangement given in our plan herewith does equally well for both.
Of the instrument very little explanation is required. A number of pieces of wood, metal, bones, or stones are selected which will give the required tone when struck by a small hammer, and these are arranged on strings which are tightened over a shallow wooden box, being fastened with a small lump of sealing-wax to keep them in position. The harder the wood chosen for the palettes the better will be the sound; and if one good piece can be met with to give the set, the various sizes will give the tones almost without any variation. The straighter the grain the truer the sound; and though hard wood, such as oak and mahogany, is as a rule the best, yet pieces of ordinary deal will sometimes be found more musical. Some years ago we remember hearing a harmonicon made entirely out of a bundle of firewood scattered along a couple of waxed threads, and admirably was it played by the maker. There being no sustaining power in the materials, only very rapid tunes could be performed satisfactorily, but the sailor’s hornpipe on this bundle-wood harmonicon was quite a success. The notes being clear, sharp, and unmistakable, the very quick country dance and marching tunes could be delivered with great effect owing to there being no blurring of sounds. In combination with a piano or violin the xylophone is not to be despised, and in the orchestras wherein it has now been introduced it will probably prove more effective than is generally supposed. Being cheap, and easily made, it is worth having a try at.
CHAPTER XLIX.—ÆOLIAN HARPS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM.
The simplest pattern of Æolian harp is that which fits into any ordinary window frame. A box of thin straight-grained, well-planed deal is glued together, having a length equal to that of the width of the window for which it is destined, a depth of four or five inches, and a breadth of five or six inches. The wood of which it is made is carefully planed on both sides, and is not over an eighth of an inch in thickness, and the joints are as true and clean as it is possible to make them. The more carefully this box is made the better will be the tone of the instrument.
The bridges in all Æolian harps are of some hard wood, such as oak, box, or elm, and are glued on to the face of the sounding-case. They are about half an inch high and a quarter of an inch thick. The strings are of catgut tightened by pegs screwed into the edges of the case, which are occasionally strengthened for the purpose by a thin fillet of beech. The strings are tuned in unison. Three inches above them is placed a thin board, supported on four pegs, one at each corner of the case. The harp is rested on the bottom of the window frame, and the sash is brought down on the upper board. The air passes in and out between it and the sounding-box, and the strings being set in vibration give off that soft, melodious murmur which, in a more subdued tone, is heard near telegraph posts when the wires are shaken by the wind.