In
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, a
theme is the material, usually a recognizable
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, upon which part or all of a composition is based.
Characteristics
A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found (Drabkin 2001). In contrast to an idea or
motifIn music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
, a theme is usually a complete
phraseIn music and music theory, phrase and phrasing are concepts and practices related to grouping consecutive melodic notes, both in their composition and performance...
or
periodIn music, a period is a group of phrases consisting usually of at least one antecedent phrase and one consequent phrase totaling about 8 measures in length . Generally, the antecedent ends in a weaker and the consequent in a stronger cadence; often, the antecedent ends in a half cadence while the...
(Dunsby 2002). The
Encyclopédie Fasquelle defines a theme as "Any element, motif, or small musical piece that has given rise to some variation becomes thereby a theme." (Michel 1958–61)
Thematic changes and processes are often
structurallyThe term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
important, and theorists such as
Rudolph RetiRudolph Reti , was a musical analyst, composer and pianist. He was the older brother of the great chess master Richard Réti ....
have created analysis from a purely thematic perspective (Reti 1951; Reti 1967).
Fred LerdahlAlfred Whitford Lerdahl is the Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University, and a composer and music theorist best known for his work on pitch space and cognitive constraints on compositional systems or "musical grammar[s]." He has written many orchestral and chamber...
describes thematic relations as "associational" and thus outside his cognitive-based
generative theoryGenerative music is a term popularized by Brian Eno to describe music that is ever-different and changing, and that is created by a system.- Theory :There are four primary perspectives on "Generative Music" Generative music is a term popularized by Brian Eno to describe music that is ever-different...
's scope of analysis (Lerdahl 2001, 5).
In different types of music
Music based on one theme is called
monothematic, while music based on several themes is called
polythematic. Most
fugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
s are monothematic and most pieces in
sonata formSonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
are polythematic (Randel 2002, 429). In the
expositionIn musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied....
of a fugue, the principal theme (usually called the
subject) is announced successively in each voice – sometimes in a
transposedIn music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
form.
In some compositions, a principal theme is announced and then a second
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, sometimes called a
countertheme or
secondary theme, may occur. When one of the sections in the
expositionIn musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied....
of a sonata form movement consists of several themes or other material, defined by function and (usually) their tonality, rather than by melodic characteristics alone, the term
theme group (or
subject group) is sometimes used (Rushton 2001; Benward & Saker 2009, 136).
Music without themes, or without recognizable, repeating, and developing themes, is called
athematic. Examples include the pre-twelve-tone or early atonal works of
Arnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
,
Anton WebernAnton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
, and
Alban BergAlban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
. Schoenberg once said that, "intoxicated by the enthusiasm of having freed music from the shackles of tonality, I had thought to find further liberty of expression. In fact...I believed that now music could renounce motivic features and remain coherent and comprehensible nevertheless" (Schoenberg 1975).
See also
- cell
The 1957 Encyclopédie Larousse defines a cell in music as a "small rhythmic and melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a thematic context." The cell may be distinguished from the figure or motif:...
- figure
A musical figure is the shortest idea in music, a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression and rhythmic . The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'": it produces a "single...
- idée fixe
- Idée Fixe I:# "Sieroctwo" - 8:48 # "QSS I " - 3:04 # "Larwa " - 7:27 # "Moja piosenka" - 6:49...
- leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
- motif
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....