Music Theory: Motifs
This lesson is from Music Theory Level 3
While we already discussed Motifs briefly before, we will delve into them here in more detail. A motif, or motive, can generally be defined as any short musical idea that special importance to a composition. This is, admittedly, a very broad definition, and intentionally so. Most other musical techniques, including repetition, sequence, and techniques not yet learned, are simply different ways to manipulate, or develop, a motif.
Take, for instance, the famous short-short-short-long motif (SSSL for short) which occurs twice consecutively at the opening to the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony (the audio for this lesson).
Notice the rhythm described by its name:
***The staves used here and in the following graphics represent the string parts. The third staff uses Alto Clef, which is played by the violas - you have not learned how to read it yet.
The motif later recurs in a variety of different ways, and is thereby developed in the movement. Take for instance the below variations on the motif, with their corresponding timestamps in the recording:
As you can see in the picture above, at 0:10, following the initial introduction of the motif, different instruments receive the motif in order to form it into a longer melody:
At 1:02, the motif is used as a rhythmic background to a different melody:
At 3:15, the rhythm of the motif is repeated as the music builds to a climax:
At 4:09, the motif is repeated over and over, with less and less distance between repetitions, until it reappears dramatically in its original form:
The recurring use of one or a small collection of motifs can serve are a great method to help a long composition hold as a single, unified whole.
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