Music 231 Motive Development Techniques, part 1 Fourteen motive development techniques: New Material Part 1 (this document) * repetition * sequence * interval change * rhythm change * fragmentation * extension * expansion Part 2 * compression * inversion * interversion * diminution * augmentation * ornamentation * thinning Techniques of motive development are numerous, ranging from simple repetition to complex combinations of variations. We will examine fourteen basic techniques and analyze examples using them individually and in combination. As part of the definition of each variation type, note that some techniques change the length of the motive, while others do not. Repetition Repetition is the simplest and one of the most prevalent kinds of motive development. Repetition is usually immediate, but may be preceded by intervening material. [motive length: same as original]
Sequence The motive is repeated at another pitch level. In most common-practice music, the motive is transposed tonally, i.e. without chromatic alterations. The result is that intervals may change quality (but not number). [motive length: same as original] In the Beethoven example below, the motive's opening major third becomes a minor third in the sequences that follow. Similarly, the interval between the third and fourth notes is a major second in the motive and first sequence, but a minor second in the final sequence. The example from Scheherazade is a literal sequence; every tone has been transposed a major second (sometimes written as a diminished third) higher.
Interval change The most common interval change occurs at the end of a otherwise literal motive repetition. But they can also occur anywhere in a motive and include one or several intervals. [motive length: same as original]
play Rhythm change Rhythm changes add a subtle change to a motive. [motive length: same as original] In the Mozart example below, the added sixteenth notes give the third bar an extra push forward. The rhythm alteration in the Stravinsky moves second beat accent between D and E. Copland uses rhythmic changes to add more motion to each consecutive measure. Fragmentation One germ of a motive may be repeated and varied separately from the rest of the motive. [motive length: shorter than original] This is central to the music Haydn and Beethoven, and is found in the music of every common-practice composer.
Fragmentation, example 1 Fragmentation, example 2
Extension and Expansion Extension and expansion both involve lengthening the motive. If new material (or fragments, etc.) comes before the final note, it is referred to as an expansion. If new material begins with the final note, delaying the expected cadence, it is referred to as an extension. [motive length: longer than original]
Other examples: 1 Expansion in: Mendelssohn, Song Without Words, Op. 67, No. 5, above 2 Extension in: Beethoven, Symphony No. 4, Trio from the Minuet, above 3 Extension in: Mozart, Piano Sonata, K332, above The E-flat clarinet solo in the first movement of John Adam's Chamber Symphony provides a particularly interesting use of motive extensions. Note the length in beats of each extended motive.
Extensions in John Adams CHAMBER SYMPHONY Please note: the information on this page has been supplied by Dr. Ronald Caltabiano
Music 231 Motive Development Techniques, part 2 Fourteen motive development techniques: New Material Part 1 * repetition * sequence * interval change * rhythm change * fragmentation * extension * expansion Part 2 (this document) * compression * inversion * interversion * diminution * augmentation * ornamentation * thinning Compression Compression (also known as elision) is a less common development technique in which the motive is shorted by removing material from its middle. Do not confuse this with diminution (see below). Compressed motives are shorter than the original motive (because material is removed), but their note values are the same. [motive length: shorter than original] Inversion The motive (or part of it) repeated in the opposite direction, i.e. intervals that went up now go down, and vice versa. Inversion may be strict (usually in twentieth-century music) or tonal (in most common-practice music). [motive length: same as original] In a tonal inversion, the qualities of intervals are often changed as their direction is reversed. For example, an ascending major third might become a descending minor third. Small divergences from completely strict inversions are accepted as normal. In the Bartok example below, notice the irregularity in the inversion of the second measure.
Interversion Interversion is the restatement of a motive with its germs reordered. [motive length: same as original] In the second example below, notice the introduction of a new germ in conjunction with the interversion. This results in an unusual five-measure phrase.
Diminution and Augmentation In a motivic restatement, note values may be shortened (diminution) [motive length: shorter than original] or lengthened (augmentation) [motive length: longer than original]. In early contrapuntal forms (fugues, canons, etc.), these processes were applied strictly to every note of a motive: every note value would either be doubled, quadrupled, halved, or quartered. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, liberties were sometimes taken so that some notes would be shortened (or lengthened) while others would not, or they might be shortened or lengthened by different amounts.
Ornamentation and Thinning Ornamentation is a common technique in which notes are added to the motive while keeping the melodic and rhythmic outline of the motive intact. (Note that these notes are specifically written into the music by the composer, unlike the implied ornamentation is Baroque music or in improvisational music.) Thinning is the opposite process, removing some notes but retaining the essential outline. [motive length: same as original]
Additional examples The body of music literature contains countless examples of development techniques that are too subtle or too individual to catalogue. Further, the techniques listed in these pages are often combined in unique ways. Examine the examples below, paying special attention to combinations of development techniques. You may need to describe variations as based on multiple techniques (for example a sequence with a rhythmic change) or you may wish to describe consecutive techniques (for example the first germ might be inverted, the second germ might be sequenced). Bach: The Art of Fugue, Canon I
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, Fourth Movement Summary Technique Method Length of original repetition restatement same sequence restatement transposed same interval change same rhythm, interval or same intervals altered rhythm change same intervals, rhythm varied same fragmentation part of original (usually a germ) shorter repeated extension material added at end of motive longer expansion material added in the middle of longer the motive compression material removed from the shorter middle of the motive inversion interval direction reversed same interversion germs presented in a different same order diminution note values reduced shorter augmentation note values lengthened longer ornamentation non-harmonic tones added same thinning non-harmonic and/or ornamenting tones removed same Please note: the information on this page has been supplied by Dr. Ronald Caltabiano