Motives

Motives

It can be difficult to distinguish motives in pop songs, because each song is generally based exclusively on five or six repeating, unchanging elements. Are these really motives? It's hard to say, but they do unify the piece. Some of these elements, however, are quite distinctive and can even be used to identify the song.  These I feel can be called motives. 

Looking again at our Top Five:

“Hello” by Adele consists of three main segments of repeating material.  The chorus has repetitive scoopy high notes, which break the monotony of the other material and connect the chorus’s recurrences in the listener’s ear.  For example, please see time markings 2:34 and 2:40. 

 

Justin Timberlake's “Drink You Away” also has unifying features within the more consistent verse/chorus structure.  Perhaps the most noticeable is the repeating ascending 457 (scale degrees) pattern in the chorus (1:01).  The most common however, is the six note swung rhythmic pattern first heard in the guitar in the introduction (0:21) as well as frequently in the vocal line (0:39).  These elements are distinctive and unify the different sections of the song.

Some unifying elements of “Stitches” by Shawn Mendez are the rhythmic lick found at in both the verses and the chorus (0:55 and 1:07) and the parallel intervals of "kisses" and "stitches" at the end of the chorus (1:15-1:20). Though these elements are technically a part of the standard melodic material they are distinctive features of this song.

Justin Bieber's “Sorry” breaks the mold.  Here are excellent examples of distinguishing and unifying motives in pop music.  It opens with a vocal ornament that returns several times throughout the work.  See time markings 0:12, 1:15, 2:35, 2:53, etc. for examples. This interjection unifies the work and makes it possible to identify the song in the first few seconds.  It also nicely contrasts the surrounding material. 

Similar is the synthesized "trumpet" flourish at 0:05 and 2:02 which serves a similar purpose. Neither of these elements has much to do with the vocal or accompanimental lines.  It seems that their sole purpose is to add variety, interest, and unity, which they do quite well.

Most interesting is Meghan Trainor's “Lose You.” Throughout, the melodic line, though fundamentally unchanging, develops through her increased use of ornamentation. In this, she achieves the greatest sense of variety of the five pieces.  For example, compare the relatively simple version of the chorus at 0:44 to a more adorned version at 3:00.  The second version adds a duet part in echo, decorative runs, melodic alternations, and general ornamentation.  This addition of ornamentation creates an element of development, helping the listener’s interest increase rather than diminish as the otherwise repetitive piece progresses.     

In summary, generally pop songs do not use motives for unity but rather combine several repeating, unchanging elements.  Some find other ways to create variety.  In my opinion, all songs should have something to maintain the listener’s interest, and any of these methods can be used successfully. 

~Ellyn