Hazrat Inayat Khan tells this story of his life as a musician in India, but it could have occurred in any country.

In my early days of work I once came in contact with a family who were supposed to know music very well. When I came there they said, “We cannot have anything that is not up to the mark.” I said, “That is what I want.”

“We have heard that you can give us some singing,” they said. I said, “Yes,” and then sang.

They said, “This is not what we want, excuse us.”

Well, I thought that I must sing something a little higher. So I sang again.

“This is not quite the thing we want either,” they said. Then I understood what they wanted. So I sang something a little lower. They said, “This is somewhere nearer.”

Now, I thought, I know what you want, and I sang something lower still. They said, “That is the best thing, that is what we wanted!”