MUSICAL COMPOSITION

MELODIES AND THEm TREATMENT 47influenced at first by Spohr's most striking mannerismis not to be wondered at, though he was too great a.man to be hidebound by it for long, and he soon foundout the proper proportion of condiments to use withhis diet. That he always retained a soft spot in hisheart for Spohr was evident from his travelling a longdistance in 1874 to hear the revival of Jessonda,at which the writer was present. History repeatsitself sometimes in the transient exaltation ofthe compounders of nerve-stimulants over the purveyorsof sound food. We let ourselves be beguiledby the beauty of the jars of coloured waterin the chemist's window, and turn away from thedry, academic and unaesthetic aspect of the baker'sshop.The advice, therefore, to the student under this headingmay thus be summed up :Trust to inspiration for a melody.Do not necessarily be satisfied with the form inwhich it first presents itself, but work at the detailswhile preserving its balance.When your melody satisfies you, get a bass for itwhich is as melodious as you can make it· withoutallowing it to overshadow the melody proper. Thebass will probably be in your mind as you write themelody.Practise as much as possible in old rhythmicaldance-forms, such as minuets, sarabands, allemandes.Vary the number of bars in your phrases, and becareful to balance them satisfactorily to the ear.Remember that sentences to be intelligible must havecommas, semicolons, colons, and full stops, and applythis principle to your music. By doing so you will