The Music and Musical Instruments of Southern India and the Deccan c13.s1.14

c13.s1.14

The pitches of the notes produced were determined on May 21, 1886, by Mr. A. J. Hipkins, who tried to touch the frets as evenly as possible, while I furnished the forks from my tuning fork tonometer, the exact pitches of which had been accurately determined. By this means Mr. Hipkins was able to count the beats between the forks and the notes due to the frets for two or three seconds, and then to continue counting at the same rate to complete ten seconds. Each pitch was thus determined by two of my forks, one sharper and one flatter, and there was never so much as half a vibration difference in the determinations. When any difference existed a mean was taken. A scale was thus determined which satisfies modern Indian ears. As the s'rutis in it vary from all the circumstances named, and apparently on no conceivable plan, it is evident that if the mean of all were taken—that is, if a cycle of twenty-two were instituted, as I have effected by a series of forks—Indian ears would still be satisfied. I have endeavoured in the following table to bring out all these facts.