Motive as a basic melodic unit

This document is mostly of interest for guitarists interested in developing their compositional skills, be it a guitar solo or a riff. The following discussion is about the basic unit of music that contains some sort of meaning that unit is called a motive. What is a motive? A melodic pattern that constitutes a riff or a solo is often built up of one or more motives and variations on these. A riff is often composed of a short idea, which is played repeatedly over a set amount of time, and a solo often begins with an idea that is developed further during the following flow of music. These ideas are technically termed as motives, which might not seem to be a good explanation of the term, but there is no definition that is absent of any vagueness. The personal experience should be the judge of how a motive can be recognized. A motive can be as short as one beat, or as long as several measures, containing all in range of two to twenty notes. The discernible quality of a motive is its definite musical idea that can be recognized as an individual unit.

Motive and its rhythm

Motives can follow several rhythmic patterns with special feelings that you should describe in your own way. The most common motive rhythm patterns are:
1.) UPBEAT-to-DOWNBEAT, or so-called anacrusis where upbeat note(s) end in a downbeat note. For example, in a 4/4 measure a motive might start with two eight-notes on the last beat of a bar, terminating in a quarter-note on the first beat of the following bar. This rhythmic pattern has a driving force feeling to it.
2.) DOWNBEAT-to-UPBEAT. The opposite of the above: downbeat note(s) end in an upbeat note, that does NOT lead to the next downbeat note (at least not as we experience it). E.g. in a 4/4 measure two quarter-notes could start on the first two beats in a bar and terminate in a quarter note on a third beat. This type of motive gives a feeling of a short breath before the next motive starts.
3.) DOWNBEAT-to-DOWNBEAT. Downbeat note(s) terminate in a downbeat note, e.g. the first bar starts at the very first beat, and the last note stands on the first beat of the second bar. This rhythm feels like a blend of the two above as the motive plays, the forward motion is eminent, but then a pause interrupts the motion. Try to experiment with the above rhythmic patterns and create riffs/solo ideas following these patterns. Listen to your records and try to recognize these rhythmic patterns and consider their different feelings and place in a composition.

Composition of a melody

A melodic phrase often contains very few motives, not seldom just one. This may seem somehow primitive at a first glance, but actually it is an intelligent way of upholding the unity of a musical idea, which, psychologically, is preferred by the human mind we mostly don t enjoy an infinite flow of musical ideas within a short interval of time. The great composers understood that, or perhaps instinctively, created melodies and whole compositions based on a few motives. The famous 5th symphony of Beethoven, where the first part is built almost entirely around the initial motive comes to mind. The fantastic aura of the classical composers is partly due to their ingenious abilities to create fifteen minutes of music out of nothing , that is, out of a very few ideas. Listen to your records once again and see how/if a motive develops throughout the composition, be it a guitar solo, a riff, classical, jazz etc. This is one of the aspects of music that can tell you about its quality, or rather, about the genius of the composer. In the next section we discuss how a motive can be developed by means of variations.

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