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Hey everyone, this is Pedro and 
today I'll share how I use the 

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self-imposed limitation, or a 
creative prompt if you will, to 

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help me make decisions while 
navigating through different 

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keys, choosing chords all based 
on modal brightness 

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relationships. 
Hopefully this doesn't sound 

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complicated, first because it 
isn't, and 2nd, I'm sure you'll 

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be able to implement these ideas
in your music, so let's dive in.

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Throughout the next examples, I 
use the reference speech B to 

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filter my tonal or modal colour 
choices. 

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But this is not so much about 
using B as the root or model 

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centre per SE, but rather using 
it as a guide to limit and 

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inspire which keys or modes I. 
Choose all while. 

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Exploring the relationship that 
can be established between modes

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in a hierarchy of darkest to 
brightest, like in this image. 

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Of course there is space for 
subjectivity here, but this is 

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the relationship I followed and 
this will become clearer as we 

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go through the next examples. 
This whole section is actually 

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model, as it's based on AB 
aeolian melody doubled on the 

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bass while the piano is doing 
bisa 7 arpeggio throughout, only

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to use a couple of chords near 
the end of this phrase just for 

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the sake of variety. 
If you want to know more about 

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modes and modal harmony, check 
out the links in the description

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taking you to the Beyond Music 
Theory blog. 

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You'll have access to a lot of 
resources and ideas that you can

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try out in your music. 
This next section is where I got

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a bit more creative with the 
limitation. 

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In order to create the harmony, 
I selected keys where B exists. 

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And with that said, the focus 
wasn't on B as a tonic, but its 

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presence within the modal color 
palette of each key. 

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With that in mind, I organized 
my harmonic journey of this 

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section in a way that would take
me from darker to brighter 

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sounding modes of B. 
The way I started to define the 

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chord progression was by first 
creating target chords that I 

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labeled in red and these were 
chosen purely on color or vive. 

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They are all major in this case.
This helped me to focus more on 

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the journey of how I would 
arrive at those target chords, 

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either by creating a leading 
melody on the bass or by using 

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quartal chords moved in a major 
third sequence. 

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As you can see in Gray on the 
chord track, I approach it more 

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as transitions using mostly 
materials. 

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From the other keys where. 
B lives. 

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You could try this yourself. 
Try choosing a reference pitch 

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and then use the relationships I
described. 

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Or even do something different 
like navigating through keys 

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where that pitch is a major, 
minor, diminished, or augmented 

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chord. 
Play with that. 

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For this last section I used an 
ostinato pattern based on a sys 

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47 arpeggio that was also moved 
around or transposed so I could 

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explore different modal colors. 
Again, modal colors from where B

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modal center was a possibility. 
What I did was to experiment 

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with and decide chords that 
could work on top of that 

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ostinato again, chords from. 
Keys where? 

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B as a modal center lives. 
Try experimenting with a 

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repeating phrase such as this 
and try using different chords 

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on top of it while moving it 
around. 

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See how this approach may push 
you into unexpected colors? 

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There would be more to unpack, 
but that's the gist of how I 

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approach the creation of these 
examples. 

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All while using a pitch as a 
base for making decisions 

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regarding navigating through 
different keys and even creating

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chord progressions. 
Using constraints or limitations

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such as these can unlock new 
connections and drive creative 

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decisions. 
So a big part of creating music 

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in this manner is based on your 
ability to plan out how you want

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your composition to evolve, 
choosing and organizing your 

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materials, etcetera. 
If you struggle with this kind 

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of thing, I have an online 
course that could help you with 

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just that. 
The link is in the description 

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as always, so check it out. 
And if you wish to go further, 

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check out my other online 
courses on creating chord 

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progressions or harmonizing 
melodies or even the Beyond 

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Music Theory book. 
And since you have reached this 

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far, here is the full example 
put together. 

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Thanks for watching and until 
next time, None.