G8 CALCULATION OF VIBRATION-NUMBERS. [II. § 36.
Thus the pitch of the tonic absolutely fixes the
pitch of every note, in the scale of which it is the
starting-point.
Before we proceed to investigate the mechanical
equivalent of the third element [§ 24] of a musical
sound, its quality, it will be convenient briefly to
examine a subject possessing an important bearing
on that enquiry. This we shall do in the next
chapter.