How do you come up with a good Theme?

This is for anybody who wants to discuss how they come up a theme through which they can make Variations, or a Symphony

For me, I play a certain theme another composer (For instance Handel) and then I tweak it to suit my liking. If it sounds too much like the theme by Handel, I make it better, so it is original.

anyone feel free to share your methods and ideas

(And if you think my method is pushing the line of copying the great works

then let me know)

When i used to do hip hop, i used to tweak four or five notes with one instrument, with variatians in rpeating of one, the lenght of the note and the time between the notes. Then i would use another instrument and try to add color to the melody or use the instrument to make abackground melody which sound terible alone but when behind the main theme , with the theme sounds epic.

Well actually I don't primarly focus on the melody, I focus more on harmonics.

I like to give people an atmosphere when writing. But when I have to create a melody I just create one :shifty:

I don't find it so hard.

It depends on how creative I am at the time, but mostly the theme of my compositions are dictated by the direction the piece is flowing in, rather than by me forcing one out. For clarification, I don't sit down to write a melody. The melody writes itself, I focus on the harmony and timbre of it. I my part in composing like that of taking a backseat to the music, I'm merely there for the ride, while it ultimately controls itself.

I normally just wait for a good theme to come along. This means it takes me 2 months to write a song. So I think I'll take John Galt's advice.

Really though, I think good technique for these things cant really be imitated, as in, everyone's methods come out slightely differently.

Depends on what you mean. If you want a catchy melody, then you have to be born with it.

If you just want a two bar motive which you can develop to god knows where, than all you gotta do is fool around with some notes.

I've always wondered how composers can't think of melodies. I mean, I compose melodies in my head all the time. When I read a book, I have a soundtrack. What about you?

Depends on what you mean. If you want a catchy melody, then you have to be born with it.

I disagree. I think catchy melodies, like any melodies, can be as much of an accident than anything.

I create soundtracks when I read and such. Problem is, its not an original piece I hum in my head, its a variation on someone elses work.

Depends on what you mean. If you want a catchy melody, then you have to be born with it.

If you just want a two bar motive which you can develop to god knows where, than all you gotta do is fool around with some notes.

I've always wondered how composers can't think of melodies. I mean, I compose melodies in my head all the time. When I read a book, I have a soundtrack. What about you?

I am composing melodies in my head all the time too. It is new for me, it happened 2 years after I decided to take singing lessons.

I am now recording all the melodies which are played with my computer in wave format, and I am learning piano to play them too.

I have some questions for you : do you record everything ?

How do you sort your melodies ?

Thanks,

Max

I usually don't think about a "theme" until after the piece is halfway done.

If someone wants to learn how to come up with good thematic material, practice writing for a monophonic solo instrument - flute, violin etc., having sought some technical advice (from a book, performer or wherever) about the instrument. With strings one has to take care with double stops but you're allowed them as a concession!

A polyphonic instrument like a piano doesn't count. It has to be monophonic.

By the way, this doesn't mean abandoning harmonic chordal considerations - just that they're implied in your melodic meanderings.

M

To find a melody I sometimes try in my mind to find figure out something. If I figured something I like, I'll record it or write it down. Other times I just play an instrument (usual on a horn, a piano or a mandolin) untill I find some good stuff.

On 7/22/2006 at 6:09 AM, Niklas said:

To find a melody I sometimes try in my mind to find figure out something. If I figured something I like, I'll record it or write it down. Other times I just play an instrument (usual on a horn, a piano or a mandolin) untill I find some good stuff.

 

That's a great approach to finding melodies!

Almost all great themes share a few common traits

• They fit within 8 bars

• They follow either sentence or period structure

• They have a clear apex (only one highest or one lowest point which is not repeated)

• They have an obvious rhythmic pattern to such an extent that they would be memorable purely by rhythm alone

Start with your C major scale on piano. Start at C and play down, one note in the scale at a time until you reach the C the octave below.

Then, all you have to do is alter the rhythm in which you descend and you'll discover something quite famous

That is how important rhythm is to great melodies. It can turn the most boring C major scale into one of the most recognizable tunes in all Western music

On 3/22/2024 at 1:35 AM, AngelCityOutlaw said:

Almost all great themes share a few common traits

• They fit within 8 bars

• They follow either sentence or period structure

• They have a clear apex (only one highest or one lowest point which is not repeated)

• They have an obvious rhythmic pattern to such an extent that they would be memorable purely by rhythm alone

Start with your C major scale on piano. Start at C and play down, one note in the scale at a time until you reach the C the octave below.

Then, all you have to do is alter the rhythm in which you descend and you'll discover something quite famous

 

That is how important rhythm is to great melodies. It can turn the most boring C major scale into one of the most recognizable tunes in all Western music

 

Great reference.