1. Start with three neighbours
Use C, D and E. You already know how they feel under your fingers. A tune does not need every key.
2. Ask a question
Play C D E G, then stop. Leave a gap the length of a breath. The gap makes it feel like a sentence that is waiting.
3. Answer it, and go home
Walk back down: G E D C. Ending on C feels finished, the way a story feels finished when everyone is back at the house.
4. Steal a rhythm from a sentence
Say “I like toast” and play one note on each word. “Toast” can be the long note. Words keep the rhythm from turning into a row of identical taps.
5. Repeat, then change one note
Play the question twice so a listener can remember it. The second time, change a single note. That tiny surprise is what makes it yours.
6. Test it with a silly sound
If the tune still sounds like a tune when you play it with bells, or with meows, the notes are doing the work. The sound was only the costume.
When a note wants company, put a chord under the long ones. C fits C, E and G. The chord page shows a pattern that already accompanies Twinkle.
Then record the tune and play it back. Hearing it without your hands on the keys is the moment you find out whether it sticks.