Fortspinnung is a German term conceived in 1915 to refer a specific process of development of a musical motif. In this process, the motif is developed into an entire musical structure by using sequences, intervallic changes or simple repetitions.

It is also possible to use the fortspinnung form term that stands for a structure with three parts:

• The antecedent or exposition of the motif.
• The fortspinnung itself where the motif is developed.
• The epilogue or cadence section.

Examples

The use of this process of development and musical structure is focused mainly in the Baroque

Baroque music

Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...

 period. Here we can see an example of the fortspinnung process in the first section of the Johann Sebastian Bach

Bạch

Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...

 Invention No.4 in D minor (BWV 775):



Even though it is a Baroque technique, it is also possible to find this process in scores from other composers in different periods, such as Johannes Brahms in the Romantic

Romantic music

Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....

period: