MUSICAL COMPOSITION

COLOUR 105(c) The tendency of the double bass to move ratherthan to sustain notes (a held note on thatinstrument being necessarily unsatisfactorythroughout its length excepting in soft passages),and to play in the upper octaves of itsregister rather than in the lower.Bearing these points in mind, Mozart can give amost effective lesson in the following way. Buy afull score (say) of the Symphony in E Bat, and agood full arrangement of it for pianoforte (four hands).Write the exact number of instruments and the keysand crooks of the clarinets, horns, trumpets anddrums on lines corresponding to those of Mozart'sprinted score; and then instrument the Symphony foryourself from the pianoforte arrangement (withoutpeeping into the original for the solution of anydifficulties). Look with an orchestral eye at passageswhich are changed in order to adapt them to pianofortetechnique, and reverse the process. After you havescored (say) the introductory adagio, copy the Mozartscore over your own and on the same lines as your ownin red ink, omitting, of course, all identical notes, andenabling you to compare in situ the differences betweenhis work and yours. It is of no use to trust merelyto comparison; the Mozart notes must be actuallywritten down over your own, if this method of trainingis to do real good. When you have written it out, thinkover the differences between your work and his, and whyhis way is likely to sound better than yours. Repeatthis process every thirty-two bars or so. When youbegin you will be aghast at the differences; but as youcontinue and gradually absorb the style, you will be