These columns usually come from my own observations, or from my recall of an experience, but readers will occasionally prod me into subjects of their own interest or even suggest a slant that hadn’t occurred to me. Recently, one such commentator, known as Taff, raised some interesting queries about the craft of song-writing, and about delivering a song, that led to the two ideas I’m touching on today. I should warn that most of what follows are actually subtleties, or technical matters, which can often produce yawns in the general public, so if boredom ensues put the blame on Taff.
My friend’s query about the nature of “the precious and natural gift” inherent in outstanding song-writers’ creations, leads me to note that to unravel the work of such artistes is to find how astonishingly different the ingredients of the gift are in the thousands of persons so blessed.
In all the millions of popular songs produced, covering decade after decade, it is similarly astonishing to realize that all of that work rests on only 7 notes of the musical scale; every one of those
