A1 MUSIC
UNIT 2:
Developing Musical
Ideas
Sometimes it is easy come up with an initial great musical idea – for example, a catchy
melody or rhythm, or an effective chord sequence, or a successful 8 or 16-bar
section, and then…dry up! Indeed, a common question amongst students during the
composition process is: ‘Where do I go from here? How can I develop what I have
done?
The aim of this booklet is for you to gain some understanding and ideas of possible
ways to develop musical material. You will be looking at how to develop ideas
texturally through instrumental or vocal parts; how to vary repetitive chord patterns;
how to change key; and how to develop melodic motifs.
Exercise 1: Texture Variation
Printed on the opposite page is an extract from Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor,
op.34: movement III.
Listen to the extract (labelled Brahms Piano Quintet). (VLE: AS Music: Topic 7: Unit
2: Composition: Developing Musical Ideas).
Using a highlighter pen, highlight wherever you can see and hear ideas that come
from bars 67-70 in the viola part, labelled ‘A’ on the score. Notice in particular how
the idea is passed down through the instruments – a great way to make the texture
more interesting, and also to develop the initial 2 bar idea!
Now open the Sibelius file named ‘Eastenders’ from the VLE. You should have the
main 8 bar melody from ‘Eastenders’.
Save this version into your own user area as ‘Eastenders (then your surname)’.
You are now going to produce an 8 bar arrangement for 4 instruments using the ideas
from the main 8 bar theme. The task should take about one hour. Consider the
following in your arrangement, and remember to save your work regularly:

Make sure all your instruments have some of the melodic material at some
point – therefore providing textural interest to your piece. The theme does not
have to always be in the first / top part.

Experiment with varying the motifs within the 8 bar melody, for example,
maybe try a descending scale idea to mirror the opening ascending one!

Use the chord symbols to help you add harmony parts when the instruments do
not have melodic ideas.

Make sure you listen carefully to your work – does it sound ok? You may well
have to vary an idea slightly to get it to sound good.
If you finish within the hour, then extend the arrangement to 16 bars.
Exercise 2: Chord Substitutions
An often-difficult task for music students is how to develop a basic chord pattern –
especially useful if you have the same basic chord sequence for a repeating section of
music, for example a verse in a pop song. One idea is to consider chord substitutions.
These are chords that can replace some of the original chords, but still sound as
effective.
Printed on the opposite page is the main melody and chord pattern for the popular
song ‘Blue Moon’. On the following page is a second version of the melody, with chord
substitutions added.
Listen to both extracts (Blue Moon original, and Blue Moon Extended Chords) on the
VLE.
Using a highlighter pen, highlight on the second score any of these ‘extra’ or
different chords that are added.
The ‘Blue Moon’ example is quite a complex one using extended and advanced chords,
but it is possible to make simpler chord substitutions that are effective too.
Open up the Sibelius file labelled ‘Row, Row’ from the VLE.
You have a version of the well-known song, ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’ with the simple,
basic chords played by a guitar. It is then repeated.
Save this version onto your own user area as ‘Row row (then your surname)’
Using the hints for basic chord substitution below, try to change some of the chords,
or even add new ones, to the repeat. Make sure you listen carefully to make sure the
sound of the chords is exactly what you want. The exercise should hopefully take you
no longer than 30 minutes.

The piece is in C major, so the diatonic chords within the key are:
I=C
II = Dm
III = Em
V=G
VI = Am
VII = Bdim
IV = F

Chord VI can be an effective chord sub for I

Chord II can be an effective sub for IV

Chord VII can be an effective sub for V (in fact, add a 3rd below chord VII and
you have V7!)

Chord III can be an effective sub for either chords V or I!

The reason these substitutions work so well is that the chords share the same
function:
I and VI – tonic (‘home’)
IV and II – subdominant (moving to dominant)
V and VII – dominant (moving back to tonic)
When you have finished your version, make sure you save it, and then open the
Sibelius file ‘’Row, row with chords’’ from the VLE
Listen to the chords added to this version of ‘Row, Row’, and write below what has
been changed and, if you can, why it works!
Exercise 3: Changing Key
Changing key is an obvious way to develop your musical ideas, and provide some
contrast and / or a change in mood. The diagrams below illustrate, through C major
and A minor, the common related keys to modulate (change key) to, from a major or a
minor key.
Related keys are: the relative major or minor, and the subdominant and dominant of
the original key, along with their relative majors or minors!
F
C
Dm
G
Dm
Em
F
Am
Em
Am
G
C
Open up the Sibelius file ‘Bach’s Minuet’ from the VLE to see and hear the modulation
to the dominant key that occurs in the Minuet by Bach that you studied during the
Induction lessons on ‘melody’. See how it starts in G major, and goes to D major in the
second section, (see the C#s). Listen to the effect of the modulation.
However, these are by no means the only keys you should explore in your work, and
indeed composers since the Romantic period have enjoyed exploring distant and
unrelated keys:
On the following page are the string parts for the start of James Horner’s ‘Take Her
To Sea Mr Murdoch’ from ‘Titanic’, where the music changes key every 4 bars or so,
to match the ship’s gathering speed. Open up the audio file ‘Titanic’ from the VLE
The music passes through the following unrelated keys during the extract, although
not in the order listed. See if you can work out what key the music is in at the
positions marked 1 – 5 on the score, using the accidentals and bass notes to help you
decide, and add your answers in the boxes:
Ab
D
E
C
B
Now open up and listen to the audio file “Earth Song” from the VLE where you can
hear Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song“, with the striking (and quite common in popular
music) modulation /key change up a tone. The effect is like a ‘lift’ to the listener. Can
you think of any other examples of this kind of key change?
An easy way to get from one key to another is to use chord V in the new key
(usually then followed by the new chord I or VI).
Open up the Sibelius file “Lucy in the Sky” from the VLE which is the melody and
chords of the hook of The Beatles ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’.
Save this version into your own user area as ‘lucy diamonds (then your surname)’.
There is no chord on beat 4 of the second bar. Experiment with adding a ‘new’ chord
V here, to get you into a new key, and then copy / paste and move the original two
bars up or down into your new key, (the hook starts on the tonic). Remember to add
the new chord names too! See if you can move into another 4 keys, including going into
G major (the dominant key), and even maybe try the ‘Earth Song’ modulation – up a
tone to D major (what would it’s chord V be??) as one of your 4?
This task should take roughly 30 minutes. If you finish quickly, try opening a new
Sibelius project and composing a 4-chord sequence in a minor key, that then
modulates into different keys via the new chord V. Save it as ‘original modulation’ in
your own user area. Or – try the same task practically on a piano, keyboard or guitar –
can you change through keys quickly?
Exercise 4: Developing Motifs
If you have composed an effective rhythmic or melodic motif, (small idea), it is not
necessary to always move quickly on to composing another, different one. Motifs
themselves can be developed to great effect, or simply repeated as ostinati, (do you
remember the riff that underpinned the theme tune to ‘Top of the Pops’?)
Quickly re-visit the Bach Minuet file to see how the initial 2 bar melodic motif is
developed. Jot down some ways the motif has been used / changed as the piece
progresses:
Now open the Sibelius file “E.T.” to see and hear the main 8 bar ‘Flying Theme’ from
E.T. Again, jot down how John Williams has used and developed ideas from the first 2
bars in the rest of the theme:
On the opposite page is a diagram, ‘how to develop melodic and rhythmic motifs’ . In
pairs, think of specific things that you can do to develop either melodic or rhythmic
motifs, and then complete as many boxes as you can. Two possible answers have been
added to get you started. This should only take a couple of minutes, before you
discuss your ideas as a class.
Now open the Sibelius file, “Motif Development” from the VLE. You will be able to see
and hear 5 motifs, labelled 1 to 5. The first two are rhythmic, the second two are
melodic, and the final one is melodic…but atonal! Choose one of the motifs that you
like, and spend 20 – 30 minutes creating either a longer melody or rhythm, that uses
and develops these motifs – ready to perform back to the class – either ‘live’, or from
Sibelius. Be prepared to discuss how your melody or rhythm was developed. (If you
are using Sibelius, remember to save it within your own user area!)