MUSICAL COMPOSITION

CHAPTER IVMELODIES AND THEIR SIMPLE TREATMENTTHE first attempt of the tyro usually takes the formof writing a song. This is probably because the liltof a poem suggests a musical phrase, stirs the lyricalfeeling, and perhaps appeals to the dramatic sensewhich composers must possess in order to be composersat all. But the tyro does not know, what in course oftime he will infallibly find out, that to write a goodsong is one of the most difficult tasks which acomposer can set himself. Song writing is miniaturepainting. The detail must be perfect from the firstnote to the last, capable of being examined under themicroscope, and standing the test without showinga flaw. It demands a power, which is perhaps thehardest of all to acquire, of suggesting large and comprehensiveideas in a confined and economical space,and expressing small and dainty ideas without overloadingthem on the one hand or underestimatingthem on the other.It is also a dangerous rut in the composer's road.It seems to him smooth enough to progress in, but islikely enough to upset him when he tries to getout of it. To write a good melody or theme inabsolute music by the suggestion of music itself willp 33