Ramsay
When Ramsay gave a course of lectures in Glasgow, setting forth "What constitutes the Science of Music," his lecture-room was hung round with great diagrams illustrating in various ways his findings; an ocular demonstration was also given of the system of musical vibrations by his favorite illustration, the oscillations of the Silent Harp of Pendulums. A celebrated teacher of music in the city came to Mr. Ramsay's opening lecture, and at the close remained to examine the diagrams, and question the lecturer, especially on his extension of the harmonics to six octaves. Having seen and heard, this teacher went and shortly after published it without any acknowledgment of the true authorship; and it was afterwards republished in some of the Sol-Fa publications, the true source unconfessed; but our plagarist stopped short at C, the top of the tonic, instead of going on to F, the sixth octave of the root of all; the effect of this was to destroy the unity of the great chord. The 22 notes instead of 25, at which this teacher stopped, allowed him, indeed, to show the natural birthplace of B, which Ramsay had pointed, but it beheaded the great complex chord and destroyed its unity. If C, the root of the tonic, be made the highest note, having quite a different character from F, it pronounces its character, and mars the unity of the great chord. Similar diversity of effect is produced by cutting off only two notes of the 25 and stopping short at D, the top of the dominant; and also, though in a weaker degree, by cutting off only one note of the 25 and stopping at E, the middle of the tonic; this, too, disturbs the unity of the fundamental sound. [Scientific Basis and Build of Music, page 111]
See Also
1.3 - Brain Strung as a Harp
Cosmic harp
cosmic pendulum
double compound pendulum
Figure 2.7 - Swinging Pendulum showing equal but opposed Polar States
Figure 8.9 - Four Fundamental Motions of a Pendulum
harp
harp string
nine octave harp
pendulum
Pendulum Oscillation
Ramsay - Pendulum Illustrations of Ratios
Ramsay - PLATE XXVIII - The Two Modes Notes Pendulums
Ramsay - PLATE XXX - Vibration Ratios and Pendulum Proportions
Ramsay - The New Way of Reckoning a Pendulum Oscillation
Ramsay - The Sharp and the Flat - Pendulum Illustration of Ratios
Ramsay - The Sharp and the Flat - Pendulum Illustration of Ratios
Ramsay - The Three Centers in a Uniform Pendulum
Sympathetic Harp
system of motions in pendulums