Motif (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)For other uses, seeMotif (disambiguation)andMotive (disambiguation).

A phrase originally presented as a motif may become afigurewhich accompanies anothermelody, as in the second movement ofClaude Debussy'sString Quartet(1893).[1]Play(helpinfo)White would classify the accompaniment as motivic material since it was, "derived from an important motive stated earlier".

InBeethoven'sFifth Symphonya four-note figure becomes the most important motif of the work, extended melodically and harmonically to provide the mainthemeof the firstmovement.

Two note opening motive fromJean Sibelius'sFinlandia.

Motive fromMachaut'sMass, notable for its length of seven notes.

Motive from many ofBach's works including the first movements of the third and sixthBrandenburg Concertosand the third viol da gamba sonata.

Motive fromRavel'sString Quartet, first movement.

"Curse" motif from film scores, associated with villains and ominous situations.Inmusic, amotiformotiveis a short musical idea,[5]asalientrecurringfigure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of acomposition: "The motive is the smallest structural unit possessingthematicidentity".TheEncyclopdie de la Pliaderegards it as a "melodic,rhythmic, orharmoniccell", whereas the 1958Encyclopdie Fasquellemaintains that it may contain one or more cells, though it remains the smallest analyzable element or phrase within asubject.[6]It is commonly regarded as the shortest subdivision of athemeorphrasethat still maintains its identity as a musical idea. "The smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity".[3]Grove and Larousse[7]also agree that the motif may have harmonic, melodic and/or rhythmic aspects, Grove adding that it "is most often thought of in melodic terms, and it is this aspect of the motif that is connoted by the term 'figure'."A harmonic motif is a series of chords defined in the abstract, that is, without reference to melody or rhythm. A melodic motif is amelodic formula, established without reference tointervals. A rhythmic motif is the term designating a characteristic rhythmic formula, an abstraction drawn from the rhythmic values of a melody.A motifthematicallyassociated with a person, place, or idea is called aleitmotif. Occasionally such a motif is amusical cryptogramof the name involved. Ahead-motif(German: Kopfmotiv) is amusical ideaat the opening of a set of movements which serves to unite those movements.To Scruton, however, a motif is distinguished from afigurein that a motif is foreground while a figure is background: "A figure resembles a moulding in architecture: it is 'open at both ends', so as to be endlessly repeatable. In hearing a phrase as a figure, rather than a motif, we are at the same time placing it in the background, even if it is...strong and melodious".Any motif may be used to construct completemelodies,themesandpieces.Musical developmentuses a distinct musical figure that is subsequently altered, repeated, or sequenced throughout a piece or section of a piece of music, guaranteeing its unity. Suchmotivic developmenthas its roots in the keyboard sonatas ofDomenico Scarlattiand thesonata formofHaydnandMozart'sage. ArguablyBeethovenachieved the highest elaboration of this technique; the famous "fate motif" the pattern of three short notes followed by one long onethat opens hisFifth Symphonyand reappears throughout the work in surprising and refreshing permutations is a classic example.Motivic saturationis the "immersion of a musical motive in a composition", i.e., keeping motifs and themes below the surface or playing with their identity, and has been used by composers includingMiriam Gideon, as in "Night is my Sister" (1952) and "Fantasy on a Javanese Motif" (1958), andDonald Erb. The use of motives is discussed in Adolph Weiss' "The Lyceum of Schnberg".Hugo Riemanndefines a motif as, "the concrete content of a rhythmically basic time-unit." Anton Weberndefines a motif as, "the smallest independent particle in a musical idea", which are recognizable through their repetition. Arnold Schoenbergdefines a motif as, "a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece".