As the musical half of the great Gilbert and Sullivan operetta-writing partnership, Sir Arthur Sullivan was behind some of the most memorable songs in English, but what were his secrets? Professor David Owen Norris outlines Sullivan's approach to writing his songs. The transcript and downloadable versions of this part of the 'Sullivan Song Day' conference are available from the on the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/sullivan-song-day-1 Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. http://www.gresham.ac.uk