What is a motif? Themes and leitmotifs for kids

A motif is a short musical idea, a few notes long, that a composer uses again and again. The four notes at the start of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are one of the best-known motifs in music. A theme is longer: a whole tune. A leitmotif is a motif or a theme that stands for a character or an idea in a story.

Three words side by side

Word	What it is	Example
Motif	A few notes or a short rhythm that returns many times	The four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth
Theme	A complete tune that a piece is built on	“Ode to Joy”
Leitmotif	A motif or a theme tied to a person, a thing, or an idea	The two low notes that mean a shark is near

Some people spell the first word “motive.” It means the same thing.

The four notes

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 begins with three short notes and one long note. That is the whole motif.

Beethoven does not leave it alone for long. The motif passes from the strings to the woodwinds. It climbs higher. It turns soft, and then loud. It taps under other tunes. A motif is a building block, and Beethoven built most of a movement out of this one.

Read the Symphony No. 5 listening guide.

What a composer can do with a motif

Change	What happens
Repeat it	The same notes again
Move it	The same shape, starting higher or lower
Stretch it	The same notes, played slower
Squeeze it	The same notes, played faster
Flip it	The shape upside down: where it rose, it now falls
Hand it around	A new instrument takes it each time

The rhythm of a motif is often what the ear holds on to. Beethoven’s “short, short, short, long” can be heard on one note, with no tune at all.

What a theme is

A theme is a whole tune, with a beginning and an end. A child can sing it. Composers build long pieces from themes. They state a theme, change it, set it against a second theme, and bring it back.

In a set of variations, one theme is played many times, with something new each time. Read musical form for kids.

What a leitmotif is

“Leitmotif” is a German word. Say “LITE-moh-teef.” It means “leading motif.”

The composer Richard Wagner gave short tunes to the people, things, and ideas in his operas. When the tune plays, the listener knows who or what is near, even if the stage is empty. Read Ride of the Valkyries for kids.

Film composers use the same idea. A hero has a tune. A villain has a tune. In one famous film, two low notes, played faster and faster, tell the audience that a shark is coming. Read film music for kids and John Williams for kids.

A piece made of character tunes

In Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev gave each character a tune and an instrument. The bird is a flute, the cat is a clarinet, and the wolf is three French horns. A child who knows the tunes can follow the story with no words. Read Peter and the Wolf: instruments and characters.

Things to do together

Count the motif. Play the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth. Tap a tally mark each time the four notes go by. Stop after one minute, and count.

Family motifs. Make up three or four notes for each person in the family. Play one, and see who answers.

Change it. Take one motif. Play it high, low, fast, slow, loud, and soft. Read how to compose a tune.

Who is coming? Watch a film scene with your eyes closed. Guess which character is on the screen from the music alone.

Print and play

Print a listening journal page and the Peter and the Wolf character cards. For the parts of a tune, read the elements of music for kids. For music that tells a story, read what is program music?