In chapter 6 we learned the terms “motive” and “theme”. Both are used as material that is developed by a composer, but the terms are not interchangeable.
For example, a theme is a musical phrase that is important to the piece of music. Many pieces have one or two themes that are developed. A theme can be compared to the importance of the song.
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A motif is also a musical phrase, although often shorter than a theme, although it is not required to be. A motive can be play an important role in the piece, but it can also be just an unimportant repeated sequenced phrase. The motive gives the theme of the music structure, it is repeated and recognizable, but it doesn’t carry the main theme.
