Written by Philip G. Klein   

I've happily spent my entire life as a musician. My career comprised performing, teaching, composing and entertaining. I was born and raised in Saranac Lake, N.Y. and grew up during the 30's, during which time my hometown was largely unaffected by the great depression (because it was a highly successful health resort, involved in the care and cure of T.B. patients.)

Thanks to my parents, I started piano lessons at age nine and soon discovered that I could play "by ear." Since my mom and dad were both natural musicians (both untrained) I memorized a huge number of melodies, because of their constantly singing them. Following a brief service in the Navy during WW II's last stages, I attended and was graduated from the Crane School of Music, at Potsdam, N.Y. From there, I went into school music teaching and finished my career as a teacher of keyboard harmony at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y.

As a professional pianist, I divided my time between playing in a trio and playing as a soloist at many piano bars. It was there that my repertoire of over 2,000 tunes stood me in good stead!

Having given a reader that background, I come to the point that brings me to write this piece. The most important component of any song - melody - has just about disappeared from today's "popular" music. This means that today's young people will not have a store of "favorite old tunes" to help them to reminisce.
Songs used to be a deliciously effective vehicle for conveying
genuine human emotions, such as love, happiness, sadness, and every shade of human feelings. Unfortunately, I am not exaggerating! Have you tried to whistle a "new" tune lately?

Alas! The evil monster, TV, has done us in by shifting our focus to VISUAL. Thus,today's young iPod wearers are not "listening" to... they are merely "hearing" a background of cacophony to underpin their overwhelmed visual senses. They are more to be pitied than censured! Trust me - this is more than the ravings of an old you-know-what!