Each merits a gift to mark the occasion. But choosing a present is always chancy. Fortunately, this year gift giving has been simplified by focus groups who have determined that, whether you're shopping for a grad, a dad or a pagan nomad, the perfect present is a music composition. And there has never been a better time to shop for a tune. Many contemporary composers, having been left out of the money making loop, shunned by patrons of the arts and ignored by public radio, are ready to deal.
Clearance sales are plentiful, and many once exorbitant pieces are priced to go.
Haggling, long a tradition among tunesmiths, is another way to buy a sonaga for a song. Make a preposterously low offer to a composer for his opus one and watch him squirm. Other composers offer credit plans, with no money down and easy terms. One way or another, you're sure to get a decent musical event without spending a bundle. While it may be a bit late to get a major symphony or ocarina octet written for the occasion, since graduation is tonight, Father's Day is tomorrow, and the solstice the day after, any composer worth his saline solution ought to have plenty of ready-made tunes from which to choose.