motif

In the arts, a distinct element or image within a work, such as a detail in a painting or building or a significant object or action in a novel, especially one which is repeated and echoed throughout the work.

motif

In music, a group of at least two notes forming an intelligible, characteristic figure, which through repetition and development forms a foundation for larger figures and themes; one of the most basic units of composition. Often, a single motif will serve as the building block for a variety of themes and accompaniment figures.

Beethoven was one of the greatest masters of motivic composition. The first movement of his Fifth Symphony 1808 is a famous example of the constant recurrence of the four-note motif which forms the first four notes of the piece. Throughout the 19th century, composers relied on motifs to provide compositional coherence in an era in which traditional large-scale structures such as sonata form were beginning to lose their relevance. Motifs continued to be an essential compositional tool to early 20th-century artists, including Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. Since the evolution of chance procedures and other avant-garde techniques introduced in the 1950s, many composers have abandoned the motif, but it still remains a vital part of composition. See: motivic analysis; developing variation; musical idea.