Motif (music)

Not to be confused with Leitmotif. For other uses, see Motif (disambiguation).
In Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a four-note figure becomes the most important motif of the work, extended melodically and harmonically to provide the main theme of the first movement. Playⓘ
Two note opening motif from Jean Sibelius's Finlandia.[1] Playⓘ
Motif from Machaut's Mass, notable for its length of seven notes.[1]Playⓘ
Motif from Ravel's String Quartet, first movement.[2] Playⓘ


In music, a motif (/moʊˈtiːf/ ⓘ) or motive is a short musical idea,[3][4] a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition. The motif is the smallest structural unit possessing thematic identity.[1]

  1. ^ a b c White 1976, pp. 26–27.
  2. ^ White 1976, p. 30.
  3. ^ Drabkin, William (2001). The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians. Vol. 17. Stanley Sadie, John Tyrrell (2nd ed.). New York: Grove. pp. 227–228. ISBN 1-56159-239-0. OCLC 44391762.
  4. ^ Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). Music and discourse : toward a semiology of music. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09136-6. OCLC 21524730.