The whole problem of mental inheritance is in the air, both in the sense that it is current and in the sense that it is relatively intangible. The struggle is best illustrated in the current approaches to the problem of inheritance of intelligence. In this the geneticist has not got far from base, but much has been learned in regard to the nature of the issues involved. In the field of music the geneticist has approached the subject experimentally without understanding the musical life; and the musician has approached the matter practically without being a competent experimenter. The psychologist has certainly not done his duty in clarifying the issues. The most pressing need at the present time is for such clarification. This can not be the work of one man or one generation, but must be achieved through co-operation of both sides in order to clear the way for valid experimentation. In order to indicate the character of the problem we are now facing, I shall first venture to state some fundamental assumptions upon which probably all competent investigators agree and, second, venture a little way in the direction of identifying concepts of musical life which can be dealt with experimentally. ESSENTIAL PREMISES The mechanism of heredity lies in a single germ cell carrying the character-determining chromosomes which consist of organized chains of genes. In the character and organization of these genes in the fertilized cell we find the complete "blueprint" for the future individual in so far as it is to be determined by heredity. In the twenty-four pairs of chromosomes in the fertilized human germ cell we find the long and diversified heritage of each parent represented through the union of the sperm and the ovum. The selection and the organization of the genes in these chromosomes adequately represent what the future individual can be.