Composition Technique: Journey from a Home Phrase

Here's a simple technique for creating songs that have just a bit more structure than the “stream of consciousness” style of playing:

Find a simple phrase that you like. It works best with a very very simple phrase. See the Examples below for a very simple phrase.

This simple phrase will become your “home phrase”. Play it many times, in different styles, different tempos, with different articulations and expressiveness.

After you become really comfortable with “home”, tell a story through your song. Start at home and take people out on a journey. Go far and wide, but come home occasionally. Go out in different directions, but always come back home.

Here are examples of this technique:

Video Example

Audio Examples

First, here's a phrase that I'll use as an example of this technique:

Home Phrase

Clint Goss. F# minor flute of Alaskan Yellow Cedar by Colyn Petersen.

… and here's an example of an improvisation that uses the short home phrase from above:

Simple Song built around the home phrase

Clint Goss. F# minor flute of Alaskan Yellow Cedar by Colyn Petersen.