12993 / 18210 · Workshop 103 — From Arrangement to Original Composition: Building a New Piece from Motif, Bass, Harmonic Function, Form, and Constraints← prev⊞ allnext →
103.5Do not always start from chords
Pianists often compose:
Cmaj7
Am7
Dm7
G7
and then ask:
“What melody goes here?”
That is valid.
But if you always start there:
your melodies may become prisoners of habitual harmony.