Motivic Development

Motivic development is the practice of taking a short musical idea (a motif) and transforming it through various techniques while keeping it recognizable. These techniques include changing the rhythm, altering intervals, inverting the direction, or fragmenting the motif. This creates unity and development in improvisations or compositions. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins is celebrated for his masterful motivic development, often building entire solos from simple musical ideas. In classical music, Beethoven was famous for developing short motifs throughout entire movements, as heard in the opening of his Fifth Symphony.