--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here is how I work: when I think that a…" description: "\"Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/michel-legrand-42562_asks_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_354206.jpg" --- # Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have… ![“Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly. So I write melodies-thirty, forty, fifty-then I cast them off until I have just two or three. If only one is needed, I go see…” quote by Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/michel-legrand-42562_asks_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_354206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/michel-legrand-42562_asks_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_354206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/michel-legrand-42562_asks_here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-f_354206.jpg) > “Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly. So I write melodies-thirty, forty, fifty-then I cast them off until I have just two or three. If only one is needed, I go see the director and ask him to decide. That happened one time with Jacques Demy for the duo of the twins \[in Les demoiselles de Rochefort\]: I went to his house in Noirmoutier to play 35 possible themes for him.” [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He selects a film’s core theme by intuitively finding melodies, then narrows them down through collaboration with directors. **In simple terms:** Find the right melody to match a story. Key Takeaway Use intuition, then refine with feedback. Themes creativity collaboration intuition Mood thoughtful creative Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - film production - songwriting - creative brainstorming Key Concepts musical composition film scoring artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply intuitive selection in your work? - When should you seek external input? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Casts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casts/) [Directors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directors/) [Duos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duos/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Forty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forty/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Melodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodies/) [Melodies Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodies-come-516623/) [Melodies Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodies-thirty-2590260/) [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [One time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-time/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal/) [Principal Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal-theme-3265271/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Twins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twins/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Write Melodies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-melodies-1146043/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [So I write melodies - thirty, forty, fifty - then I cast them off until I have just two or three. If only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/so-i-write-melodies-thirty-forty-fifty-then-i-cast-them-off-until-i/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-have-a-very-strange-melodic-gift-melodies-come-to-me-effortlessly/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [The melodies come out so strong that I'm like, "Oh, crap." It's really better if they could both be kind of able to compromise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/the-melodies-come-out-so-strong-that-i-m-like-oh-crap-it-s-really/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [The melodies I come up with, they're not normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/the-melodies-i-come-up-with-they-re-not-normal/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [You can study orchestration, you can study harmony and theory and everything else, but melodies come straight from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/you-can-study-orchestration-you-can-study-harmony-and-theory-and/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [I feel like when I get into most rooms, melodies come really easily to me, and they sound good in my head. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maren-morris/i-feel-like-when-i-get-into-most-rooms-melodies-come-really-easily-to/) [Maren Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maren-morris/) > [Everyone can write their melodies and chords and pianos and guitars, but what hasn't been discovered yet are tones and textures, and that's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/everyone-can-write-their-melodies-and-chords-and-pianos-and-guitars/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [I first write melodies that will make people shiver, and then, I add the lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-jam/i-first-write-melodies-that-will-make-people-shiver-and-then-i-add/) [Nicky Jam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-jam/) > [A song that sounds simple is just not that easy to write. One of the objectives of this record was to try and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/a-song-that-sounds-simple-is-just-not-that-easy-to-write-one-of-the/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [At times I have a beat first and then I write. Sometimes I have a melody in my head and I pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nneka/at-times-i-have-a-beat-first-and-then-i-write-sometimes-i-have-a/) [Nneka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nneka/) > [I don't want to write melodies anymore. I can only write really simple, dumb caveman melodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-e-miller/i-don-t-want-to-write-melodies-anymore-i-can-only-write-really-simple/) [Derek E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-e-miller/) > [In art, interest must be centred on the principal theme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/in-art-interest-must-be-centred-on-the-principal-theme/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If, while at the piano, you attempt to form little melodies, that is very well; but if they come into your mind of themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/if-while-at-the-piano-you-attempt-to-form-little-melodies-that-is/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [A song that sounds simple is just not that easy to write. One of the objectives of this record was to try and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/a-song-that-sounds-simple-is-just-not-that-easy-to-write-one-of-the-2/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) ## More by Michel Legrand > [I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-have-a-very-strange-melodic-gift-melodies-come-to-me-effortlessly/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [The more I live, the more I learn The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/the-more-i-live-the-more-i-learn-the-more-i-learn-the-more-i-realize/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/here-is-how-i-work-when-i-think-that-a-film-needs-to-have-a-principal-2/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [My father had left behind an old piano. My sister was already going to school, my mother was out working, and I stayed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/my-father-had-left-behind-an-old-piano-my-sister-was-already-going-to/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [Like a circle in a spiral Like a wheel within a wheel Never ending or beginning On an ever-spinning reel As the images unwind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/like-a-circle-in-a-spiral-like-a-wheel-within-a-wheel-never-ending-or/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [To play piano is a significant part of my life, my existence. It fulfills a very physical & spiritual need for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/to-play-piano-is-a-significant-part-of-my-life-my-existence-it/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I insist on a Steinway for my recordings, my concerts and my home. It is the only piano I want to hear my music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-insist-on-a-steinway-for-my-recordings-my-concerts-and-my-home-it/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [So I write melodies - thirty, forty, fifty - then I cast them off until I have just two or three. If only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/so-i-write-melodies-thirty-forty-fifty-then-i-cast-them-off-until-i/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) > [I would listen to something on the radio and try to tap out the melody, then the harmonies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-legrand/i-would-listen-to-something-on-the-radio-and-try-to-tap-out-the/) [Michel Legrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) [Explore all 10 Michel Legrand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-legrand/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here is how I work: when I think that a film needs to have a principal theme, I search for a melody. I have a very strange melodic gift: melodies come to me effortlessly. So I write melodies-thirty, forty, fifty-then I cast them off until I have just two or three. 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