If you have, say, 10 different short musical ideas that you would like to develop, do not
combine
them. More often than not, you'll end up with a very disjointed piece of music; because you've just got
a
whole "collage" of ideas that are somehow being stitched together.
It's important to think in phrases, so that the melody gets a chance to "breathe" in between.
Otherwise, it's just an endless stream of ideas. (See this video for an example)
Simple Melodic Variation: This is simply embellishing the existing melody. Add a few notes,
change the rhythm; it is basically improvisation. Some techniques for melodic variation are Mordent, Turn
and
Trill.
Simple Harmonic Variation: Change the harmony. This can make a huge difference, altering
the
way in which the composition is perceived.
Atonal techniques such as Inversion and Retrograde.
Modal Variation: Changing the melody from a Major to a Minor key.
Canon: Change the melody completely and keep the Harmony the same. Play some other melody
over
the same chords.
Rearranging: Break the melody down into parts, and rearrange them to form a "new"
melody.
Heterophony: In this method, we play different versions of the same melody, often at a
different speed, simultaneously. This gives us an effect like Row, row, row your boat (round).
Augmentation: Changing the harmony and notes of a theme to change it's mood. It's
popular for telling the audience that the mood of the scene is changing. It can turn a happy melody into a
sad,
or an ominous one. You can augment based on key changes, modal interchange or you could go completely
atonal.
Picardy Third: This is where you're playing a piece in a minor key, but you decide to
end it on the
major
root chord.
