Composing a Theme and Variations.

[chopinlover23]

I just wanna ask if how I can compose a theme and variations on piano.

I've listened to Tchaikovsky's Concerto 1 many times and want to build my theme based on his masterpiece, but adding variety, that the listener would not notice that it was theme from his greatest masterpiece. How do I do it? How do I extract the theme? Any tips on how to get started?

LUKE 

[lelle]

uh, why don't you just download the sheet music and look up what notes the theme contains? If that is what you mean by "extracting"?

As for writing variations, it's just up to your imagination. A common trait in variations is that it uses the same harmonic progressions as a foundation (it can be varied as well) and sometimes the original melody is only suggested by using notes that hit the same pitch at important locations to create a sense of familiarity. Study Mozart's different variation works for inspiration