A hundred and fifty years ago the fashionable society of London went mad over musical glasses. When the cloth had been removed and the company were seated at the polished table, discussing the dessert and enjoying the rare old port, it was considered a great attainment, after having partially filled the finger-bowls, to be able to extract music by casually rubbing a finger around their rims.

Strange as it may seem, even the great composer Gluck did not consider this musical trick beneath his genius, and used to pride himself upon the skill he had acquired in this kind of performance.

Mozart composed a song to be played in this manner, and many famous musicians devoted their energies to perfecting a branch of the science which they considered to be full of promise.

Even Benjamin Franklin turned his genius to the subject, and after many experiments succeeded in inventing an apparatus called a Harmonica, which he hoped would take its place amongst the recognized musical instruments of his day. From various causes, which shall be explained later, this invention was never attended with the success its author anticipated.

Considerable knack is required to obtain a clear note from a glass. A fine finger-bowl, preferably uncut, or a champagne glass, must be partly filled with water, and the performer should then damp his forefinger and also wet the rim of the glass. If the finger now be passed lightly but firmly round a portion of the rim, after a few touches a clear ringing sound will be produced. If at first this is difficult to obtain, pass the finger several times in one direction—e.g. from right to left, and then reverse from left to right. Having done this for a few seconds, the glass will, in all probability, begin to sound.

As has been said, quite a knack is requisite to perform this with any success, but the beginner should not be discouraged if failure attends the first few attempts, as, after a little practice, which seems to produce nothing but a sad groaning noise, the glass will suddenly begin to ring. Having devoted a little patience to learning the exact touch, the performer will find that the slightest movement of his finger produces the desired note.

Little Water = Low Note

The note given out depends entirely upon the amount of liquid in the glass. The less water the lower will be the note; the more water the higher it will be. Therefore taking eight glasses, or fine finger-bowls, and filling each one to a different level with water, a complete octave can be obtained.

The amount of water to be placed in each depends entirely upon the size of the bowl and the texture of the glass, and must therefore be determined by the performer himself. A keen ear will soon enable him to get the glasses thoroughly in tune, and they can then be arranged before him in the order of the notes in the scale.

For those who desire to attain proficiency in this art, it would be well to color the water distinctively in each glass, in a manner similar to the following:

By this arrangement the performer can tell at a glance which glass he must touch to obtain the note required. This is more especially applicable to beginners, for, after some practice, the relative positions of the glasses become fixed in the mind, and he knows instinctively where to turn for whichever note is wanted.

Half-Notes

Half-notes can be made by adjusting the amount of water, which can be colored accordingly; but for an ordinary entertainment the octave will be found quite sufficient, and at any rate to begin with, will require all the musician’s attention. When he can play quickly and correctly with his first eight glasses, he can introduce half-notes, but it is very unwise to start with too many vessels, for it will give both him and his audience far greater satisfaction to hear eight glasses played well than to hear a larger number played indifferently.

An important point to remember is to keep the finger and the rim thoroughly wet. If this be borne in mind, the notes will come much more easily and clearly, whilst the disagreeable droning sound will entirely disappear. Care must also be taken to see that the glasses are steady on their bases, as, in the case of champagne glasses, especially, they are liable to tip up under the pressure of the finger.

With regard to the music suitable to musical glasses, it has already been mentioned that Gluck and Mozart composed songs for this class of performance, but the beginner is not recommended to attempt these until he is very skillful. As some time will elapse before he can play even the scale with ease, perfectly simple music should be all that he tries to learn at first. When such easy, although somewhat hackneyed, pieces as “The Blue Bells of Scotland” and “Annie Laurie” have been mastered, he can try more advanced works.

Many attempts have been made to discover some means of producing the sound other than by rubbing the finger over the rim of the glass. Violin bows and other similar contrivances have all proved ineffectual.

It would seem that the texture and surface of the human skin are alone suitable for this purpose, and nothing else has proved successful. This is the reason why musical glasses have not become more common, for the continual rubbing of the wet finger over the surface of the glass becomes after a time somewhat unpleasant. However, this hardly applies to the short period that an ordinary performer would devote to an entertainment. Yet such was the reason that caused the failure of Franklin’s instrument.

The following few bars of music, being the opening phrases of a well-known song, will prove very suitable for glass music, especially when played at the dinner-table after the dessert has been discussed. To simplify the matter for those who are not familiar with the usual notation of music, the notes are given by name, thus enabling any one to pick them out with ease:

E, E, E, F, F, G, F, E, D, E, F, G, C, F, E, D, C.