ulterior meaning for
Bianca.

For instance, Gam-ut the _lowest_ note then recognised in the scale,
is called 'the _ground_ of all _accord_.' A-re, I suppose, represents
the lover's sigh 'to plead his passion.' B-mi, may be twisted into 'Be
mine,' by the light of the remaining words in the line; while 'D sol
re, one cliff, two notes have I' obviously refers to Hortensio's
disguise. The 'cliff' is what is now called a 'clef,' or 'key,'
because its position on the staff gave the 'key' to the position of
the semitones and tones on the various lines and spaces. The six notes
here mentioned are the G, A, B, C, D, E, in the bass staff. They could
only be written (as they are yet) in _one_ clef--namely, the F clef.
The expression 'two notes have I,' as applied to the D, means that, in
the key of G, D is called Sol; while in the key of C it would have the
name Re; just as Hortensio is Hortensio, and at the same time
masquerades as a singing-master.

It has been mentioned that the art of adding an extempore counterpoint
to a written melody was called 'descant.' The written melody itself
was called the 'Plain-song,' and hence the whole performance,
plainsong and descant together, came to be known by the term
'Plain-song,' as opposed to the performance of plainsong with a
_written_ descant; which was known as 'Prick-song.'

Morley gives us a clear idea that the extempore descant was often a
very unsatisfactory performance, at any rate when it was attempted to
add more than one extempore part at a time to the plainsong. As he
says--'For though they should all be moste excellent men ... it is
unpossible for them to be true one to another.' The following passage
will be more clear on this light.

_H. 5._ III, ii, 3. Fight at Harfleur.

_Nym._ Pray thee, corporal, stay: ... the humour of it is
too hot, that is the very _plain-song_ of it.

_Pistol._ _The plain-song is most just_, for humours do
abound.

* * * * *

L. 41.

_Boy_ (speaks of the 3 rogues).... They will steal anything,
and call it purchase. Bardolph _stole a lute-case_, bore it
twelve leagues, and _sold it for three half-pence_.

Falstaff's worthy body-guard are getting tired of hard knocks in
fight; Nym compares their late activity to a somewhat florid
'plain-song' [meaning an extempore descant, as explained above];
Pistol says it is a 'just' plainsong. A 'just' plainsong would mean
that