BACH motif

"BACH" redirects here. For other uses, see Bach (disambiguation).
{ \override Score.TimeSignature#'stencil = ##f \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 2/1) \relative c'' { \time 4/1 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 60 bes1 a c b! } }
The BACH motif
"b–a–c–h is beginning and end of all music" (Max Reger 1912)

In music, the BACH motif is the motif, a succession of notes important or characteristic to a piece, B flat, A, C, B natural. In German musical nomenclature, in which the note B natural is named H and the B flat named B, it forms Johann Sebastian Bach's family name. One of the most frequently occurring examples of a musical cryptogram, the motif has been used by countless composers, especially after the Bach Revival in the first half of the 19th century.