Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to a motif.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective music Used as a motif

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

motif +‎ -ic

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Examples

  • Haydn was the first great master of what is called motivic development, in which bits and pieces of music - a few notes, a melodic twist, a rhythmic gesture - become the building blocks for an entire symphony in several movements.

    NYT > Home Page By ANTHONY TOMMASINI 2011

  • I have tried to preserve the natural rhythm of the Latin text, while still uncovering some type of motivic repetition.

    Introits for Treble Choir 2009

  • Does Mr. Adams hear this as a tie to Bruckner's legacy or as evidence of a similar penchant to build large structures out of tightly constructed, repeated motivic cells and a very slowly moving harmonic rhythm?

    Bruckner in a New Light Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2011

  • Just as heavily influenced later was Weber's Der Freischütz, the first German romantic opera, and one which has motivic elements lifted directly from Medea.

    Rodney Punt: Medea Takes Revenge in an Abandoned Warehouse Rodney Punt 2011

  • Right from the start the ideas of slow motivic growth and slow harmonic rhythm proved ideal for the creation of large structures.

    Bruckner in a New Light Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2011

  • Pianist Ahmad Jamal (a man even Miles Davis credited as a big influence) is now 81 – and he remains a genius at the art of motivic improvising, repeating a catchy theme (so listeners don't lose the plot) while transforming it with fresh melody.

    Ahmad Jamal: Blue Moon – review 2012

  • The eighth and ninth songs in the cycle are another reminiscent pair, with harmonic and motivic connections to the sixth and seventh songs, respectively.

    Categorical denials Matthew Guerrieri 2008

  • The eighth and ninth songs in the cycle are another reminiscent pair, with harmonic and motivic connections to the sixth and seventh songs, respectively.

    Archive 2008-07-01 Matthew Guerrieri 2008

  • The title track is growly and raw, but Brötzmann deploys an immense variety of motivic shapes that his power sometimes disguises.

    Paal Nilssen-Love/Peter Brötzmann: Woodcuts 2010

  • Often the motivic shape of the music overrides the otherwise clear text-setting.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Lu 2009

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