This Bachelor exam project explores how improvised melodic motifs by Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry can be used as starting points for composition. The focus is on developing and applying compositional methods for transforming short musical fragments into new musical material.The study investigates several approaches, including harmonising motifs, using motifs as bass lines, deriving ostinatos, and developing melodic fragments through variation, transposition and reinterpretation. These methods were also combined and adapted during the process, resulting in flexible working strategies.The artistic outcome consists of five original compositions performed at Kungliga Musikhögskolan. The results show that short improvised motifs can function as effective compositional tools when treated through adaptable methods rather than fixed procedures. A key finding is that compositional methods become most productive when they are allowed to shift during the creative process, enabling new musical ideas and forms to emerge from the same material.