How to turn a "tune" into a "symphonic melody"?

Question

I'm a hobbyist composer and I just started reading Piston's Harmony handbook to recover the basics I never learned. One of the limits I'm trying to overcome is my inability to conceive melodies that can be arranged in a "theme and variations" piece: many melodies I compose are very regular and 'closed' and it's hard for me to imagine them reproposed in different ways (like they would be e.g. in a fugue). I want to stress that I tend to absorb much from the music I listen and I passed many years listening mostly pop / rock / metal. In the chapter about _Function and structure of melody_ I discovered the difference between a _tune_ (_"tunes have a 'closed' internal structure: after their last phrase they don't imply any prosecution"_) and a _symphonic melody_ (_"... is to be used in a more ample work [...] usually doesn't contain strong cadences on the tonic; the absence of a conclusive end allows the symphonic melody to go on, when necessary"_). I think my melodies fit the description of the _tune_, and I seem to recognize in the _symphonic melody_ the features that I desire to exploit. Is my intuition right? Is there a way to turn a tune in a symphonic melody? Am I missing something obvious in my inexperience? [PS] Sorry for any mismatch between my "quotes" and the original Piston text: I translated on the fly from my mother tongue, the terms may not be exact but I think the core ideas are clear.

Answer 1

Hey bud, it seems what your speaking of is simply the difference between traditional / commercial songwriting and symphony writing. If you want to how to write a different way, the best way to do so is try to reset your brain and immerse yourself in the other style. Stop listening to styles of music that you already are familiar with and listen to what you want to accomplish. Learn your favorite songs as covers. If you learn enough of them, it becomes part of you and then you can apply it!

Hope that helps!

Best,

Eric