Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-07-12
NEW COMPOSITION
By ALICE ktLLIAN.

envy you rte privilege Of enioying his compositions go long tef8re they reach 1he clauoring public"
 ~Ca- uy dFar.7 exclaimed Tle wife Of Mr BIrdsong. please doB't speak of those direful days preceding the ap- pearance Of q new one-or I'll r -rNt "
 .'Surely, there's nothing unpleasant about il. the caller apol0gizei. T of ten picture you sitting beneath the piano lamp playing the new airs ten derlT. while NIT. Birisong leans hack in the shadowy big chair listening 10 TOUT interpretation of the har7nonies that originated in his own soul
 That sounds awfulIy nice and po- efic and II would look good in pie lure frame" said Mrs. Birdsong, 50 hate 10 disillusion you. But yo1 might as well know that those har- monies you speak of are born into me world through painful eSthetic tra- vail
 I'm surprised. His compositions sound SO exquisitely effortleSs. I sup posed he dashed them off on 3 Pull man or anywhere-jusr ike that"
 My goodness .'' gasped Mrs. Bird song. ''You force me to tell the horrid details. First. Mir. BiriSong comes home from trip. drops his grip. kisses me briskly. snatches oS his coat and rushes 10 the plano. Listen he says. how do you like this? I just made it up last night
 "I rave over it at first because Ike the melody and at the end Of the sev- enth day I rave because he won't stop playing it.
 ..He pounds 1T out the instant he jumps from the bed in the morning and the last thing at night-abou1 l a. m.-he is playing ' with the soft ped d. He disregards meals. His soup cooIs before he gets to il and he never waits for dessert.
 Sometimes he forgets and takes his napkin along 10 the piano when he thinks of a new strain to insert. And he drags me along. too. whether I've finished eating or not. You see, he plays by ear strictly. while I studied music. So he depends upon me to write the notes on the manuscript pa- per for him.
 ''I'll think it's all done and ready 10 send to the publisher, when he yells franticaIlv: Two minors should fol- low each other. Change 1T here. Now I'll play it. How do you like that:'
 'sThen he asks me to play it so that he can get the effect. I do. Then he blurts out: You can play the right hand that way, exactly as I want 1t, but not the left. Can't you fake bass? I want that F sharp played with A. Is that tlle way you have written if? Get away a minute. I'll get the doggone thing, See, now, isn't that pretty harmony?
 "About that time he strikes a fresh chord unexpectedly. What's this:' he cries. Here what's this? Play 1t in the treble while I hold this chord, and play the treble with your left hand, so you can write down the chord with your right hand
 "When I have d, ne that obediently he announces: Now, we've got to change that top note. Should it be c or A" After We change it he huns: Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta,' and decides it will be too high for the ordinary voice and tells me to transpose it so the top note will be F.
 q procure clean sheet of manu- script paper. and do it all over again. Then he has a brand new inspiration. He thrusts his pencil behind his ear and plays the ne7T idea frantically. That's the stuff i,e beams. Do you get that? Doggora it! There it is! See it. Doggone it, I knew I could pick that up. That's the right change, isn't it? Wait a minute. Let's see how do it.
 T wait and listen. Then he says How is the bass to this thing? Maybe that bottom note ought to he changed tell him it is correct according to the rules of harmony.
 "I don't care about the rules he flares. My ear tells me how it ought to go. Dad gum it, I take liberties with the piano that nobody else does
 About that time I slip over to the table and take up the book I had be- gun reading one quiet night while MT. Birdsong was away Before I've found the place where I left off he calls me back to the piano and asks sweetry. What are these notes here. my dear? l suppose I ought to learn how to read music"
 Can't he read music:" The caller was amazed.
 'He doesn't know one note from the other. When the green and white proof sheet comes back from the publisher have to go over it with him at least q hundred times to make sure it's just the way he wants it."
 'Well, I think your name should ap- pear on the finished copy-you dc most of the work"
 Did any woman on earth ever get full credit for the amount of work she does for her husband? We'll, the wife of musician is no execution"