Sensations of Tone

On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (German Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik), commonly referred to as Sensations of Tone, is a foundational work on music acoustics and the perception of sound by Hermann von Helmholtz.

The following investigations could not have been accomplished without the construction of new instruments, which did not enter into the inventory of a Physiological Institute, and which far exceeded In cost the usual resources of a German philosopher.

For the construction of my Harmonium in perfectly natural intonation, described on p. 316, I was able to use the Soemmering prize which had been awarded me by the Senckenberg Physical Society (die Senckenbergische naturforschende Gesellschaft) at Frankfurt-on-the-Main.

To illustrate the anatomical descriptions, I have been able to add a series of new woodcuts, principally from Henle's Manual of Anatomy, with the author's permission, for which I here take the opportunity of publicly thanking him.

I must, however, request the reader to regard this section as a mere compilation from secondary sources; I have neither time nor preliminary knowledge sufficient for original studies in this extremely difficult field.

The older history of music to the commencement of Discant, is scarcely more than a confused heap of secondary subjects, while we can only make hypotheses concerning the principal matters in question.

For the representation of pitch in just or natural intonation, I have abandoned the method originally proposed by Hauptmann, which was not sufficiently clear in involved cases, and have adopted the system of Herr A. von Oettingen [p. 276], as had already been done in M. G. Guéroult's French translation of this book.

Those who prefer mechanical explanations express their regret at my having left any room in this field for the action of artistic invention and esthetic inclination, and they have endeavoured to complete my system by new numerical speculations.

And to my metaphysico-esthetical opponents I must reply, that I cannot think I have undervalued the artistic emotions of the human mind in the Theory of Melodic Construction, by endeavouring to establish the physiological facts on which esthetic feeling is based.

Professor Helmholtz's book having taken its place as a work which all candidates for musical degrees are expected to study, my next care was by supplementary notes or brief insertions, always carefully distinguished from the Author's by being inclosed in [], to explain any difficulties which the student might feel, and to shew him how to acquire an insight into the Author's theories, which were quite strange to musicians when they appeared in the first German edition of 1863, but in the twenty-two years which have since elapsed have been received as essentially valid by those competent to pass judgment.

My own Appendix has been entirely rewritten, much has been rejected and the rest condensed, but, as may be seen in the Contents, I have added a considerable amount of information about points hitherto little known, such as the Determination and History of Musical Pitch, Non-Harmonic scales, Tuning, and in especial I have given an account of the work recently done on Beats and Combinational Tones, and on Vowel Analysis and Synthesis, mostly since the fourth German edition appeared.

Finally, I wish gratefully to acknowledge the assistance, sometimes very great, which I have received from Messrs. D. J. Blaikley, R. H. M.Bosanquet, Colin Brown, A. Cavaillé-Coll, A. J. Hipkins, W. Huggins, F.R.S., Shuji Isawa, H. Ward Poole, R. S. Rockstro, Hermann Smith, Steinway, Augustus Stroh, and James Paul White, as will be seen by referring to their names in the Index.