Girolamo Diruta, born about 1560 at Perugia, was a pupil of Merulo and organist of the cathedral at Chioggia, near Venice. He was the author of a famous instruction book (published in 1597), ‘_Il Transilvano_’--a dialogue on the true method of playing organs: in which work a knowledge of everything connected with the keyboard is easily and rapidly taught. Also how to use the hands in Diminution (which means here the ornamentation of a subject by rapid notes) and the method of understanding the Tablature, proving the truth and necessity of the rules given, by examples of Toccatas by divers excellent organists. A work newly made, most useful and necessary to professors of the organ.’ The book contains the following rules for playing the organ ‘with gravity and ease.’ The organist must sit before the middle of the keyboard and must not make unnecessary movements, but must hold himself upright and in graceful position. The fingers must be placed equally above the keys, somewhat bent but not stiff; the fingers must press, not strike, the keys. The scale is to be played by the fingers alone, without the thumb, which is to be used only in a _salto cattivo_ (that is, a leap from an accented to an unaccented note), thus: [Illustration: Music score] The prejudice against the use of the thumb remained in force until Sebastian Bach revolutionized the whole method of fingering by using the thumb equally with the other fingers. _Il Transilvano_ also contains some interesting directions for registration for the eight ecclesiastical modes, for example: ‘For the First Tone, which requires full-sounding quality, the Double Open Diapason, the Open Diapason, and the Flute or Principal. To give expression to the melancholy feeling of the Second Tone, the Double Open Diapason and Tremulant are required....’ Constanzo Antegnati, born in Brescia in 1557, was an organist and organ-builder, as his ancestors had been for several generations. In 1608 he published an instruction book called _L’Arte Organica_, which is of more than passing interest since it gives some insight into the size and structure of contemporary organs, their tone-qualities and mode of playing. It would seem that Italian organ-builders did not strive after variety of tone-quality, but built their instruments almost exclusively of diapasons from 32-foot pitch to highest audible pitch through octaves and fifths, with only a small proportion of flute stops and rarely a reed stop. The Italian organists seldom, if ever, changed registration during performance. The effects which were then so much wondered at were produced more by dexterity of execution and command of counterpoint.