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The art; habit; gift; (call it what you will) of composing music is not a "cut and dried" business nor is it entirely dependent upon a first-class musical knowledge. There are many good musicians who cannot create original music and there are many fine players who never compose music. On the other hand, a person with little or no knowledge of the practical side of music will sometimes think out a really fine tune. In such a case a practical musician would have to arrange the accompanying harmonies and generally "trim" it into shape.

Many of the melodies of successful songs have been thought out by people with little or no knowledge of music. If, however, one has the creative ability and, with it, a practical knowledge of music (especially harmony) good results should follow. Even then, there is another factor; a most important one without which genius may lie dormant. This is inspiration.

Speaking generally, the music you force yourself to write will not be your best work.

From what does this quality of inspiration spring? It may arise from a variety of sources. You may listen to a fine piece of music which may set your creative talent alight without in any way plagiarizing that to which you have listened. Again, a title may suggest the germ of an idea which might be carried through to a triumphant end.

Perhaps the most fruitful of all the varying sources of inspiration in music is to be found in improvisation. Whether it be a stringed instrument; piano; organ or any other capable of producing musical sounds, the player with creative talent can usually find some source of inspiration; perhaps from the tone of his instrument or from the quality of his own playing or from some original phrase or passage, or combination of harmonies, he may hit upon; in short, something that will ultimately become a worth-while composition.

Some composers write a few good pieces of music and then suddenly finish: it would appear that their personal inspiration, for some reason or other, had dried up. Others write prolifically for a lifetime without ever doing anything out of the ordinary. It is a fascinating subject.