Repetition and variation – free course

You have a motif. What now? The temptation is to invent a second one, then a third… and to end up with a string of unrelated beads. Composers do the opposite: they repeat their motif so that it sticks, then vary it so that nobody gets bored. All music, from nursery rhymes to symphonies, lives on that balance.

1. Repetition creates memory

An idea heard once evaporates. Heard twice, it becomes a landmark. Listen to Frère Jacques: every motif is repeated straight away, which is why every child knows it by heart after a single hearing.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=110
K:C
C D E C | C D E C | E F G2 | E F G2 |]

2. Variation keeps attention alive

Repeat everything identically and the ear switches off. The solution: repeat almost the same thing. Keep enough elements for the motif to stay recognisable, and change just one. Let's take the motif from the previous lesson and look at five ways to vary it.

Technique	What changes	What stays
Change the ending	the last note	rhythm, start of the contour
Transpose	the pitch (everything moves up one step)	rhythm, contour
Vary the rhythm	the durations	the pitches
Ornament	passing notes are added	the main notes
Invert the contour	the direction (rises instead of falling)	the rhythm

Listen in order: the original motif, then the changed ending (it lands on C), the transposition one step higher, the dotted rhythm and the ornamented version.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=96
K:C
C E G/ F/ E | D4 | C E G/ F/ E | C4 | D F A/ G/ F | E4 | C3/2 E/ G/ F/ E | D4 | C D/ E/ G/ F/ E | D4 |]

Each variation is immediately linked to the original, yet brings a small novelty. This is what composers call motivic logic.

3. The "repeat – vary – conclude" pattern

Here is the most common way to build a four-bar phrase: state the motif, repeat it, then vary it to conclude. Here the motif is played twice, the second time with a different ending that falls back onto C. A very simple left hand supports it.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=92
K:C
%%staves {RH LH}
V:RH clef=treble
V:LH clef=bass
[V:RH] "C"C E G/ F/ E | "G"D4 | "C"C E G/ F/ E | "C"C4 |]
[V:LH] C,4 | G,,4 | C,4 | C,4 |]

The first statement ends on D (suspended), the second on C (conclusive). With a single motif you already have a small, complete phrase!

The rule of three: an idea heard once is a surprise, twice a landmark, three times an insistence. A fourth identical repetition is nearly always boring: by then, change something.

Common mistakes:

Varying everything at once: if you change the rhythm, the pitches and the contour at the same time, it is no longer a variation but a new idea. Change one or two parameters at most.
Never repeating: for fear of sounding "simplistic", people string new ideas together. The listener gets lost. Repetition is not laziness, it is generosity towards the listener.
Endless copy-and-paste: in the piano roll it is tempting to duplicate a motif eight times. Listen: from the third time on, it needs a variation.

Your workshop

Bring your "winning" motif from the previous lesson back into the piano roll.
Write four variations of it, one per technique: change the ending, transpose by one step, vary the rhythm, ornament with passing notes.
Build a four-bar phrase following the pattern: motif (bars 1–2), varied motif ending on C (bars 3–4).
Add a very simple left hand: a semibreve low C, or low G when the melody ends on D.
Play your phrase to someone, then ask them to sing the beginning: if they can, repetition has done its job.

Self-check: in your phrase, can you point to what is repeated and what is varied? Every variation must keep at least one element in common with the motif.