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Jazz Composition
Theory and Practice
Ted Pease

Chapter 8
Motivic Composition
Internal Form for Motivic Compositions

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CHAPTER 8 MOTIVIC COMPOSITION

Internal Form for Motivic Compositions

The internal form involves the details of a piece. The internal form is where you try to
find the delicate balance between familiar material (by way of motivic repetition or
allusion) and new material (by way of tangents or variations) as the piece evolves. It is
where you make decisions about tempo, style, tonality, modality, harmonic rhythm,
consonance and dissonance, voicings, or counterpoint. It is where you decide whether or
not to use recognizable internal episodes based on song forms or the blues to make your
music more accessible to the players and audience. It is where you make decisions about
orchestration. It is where you decide on solo forms and a host of other things. And it is
where you will probably experience some moments of total exhilaration and other
moments of total bewilderment and frustration. Such is the nature of the compositional
process.

It helps to understand that you don’t have to know all the details of a piece at the outset.
Part of the process of composition involves letting go and letting a piece flow through
you. You can’t always plan for this; sometimes it just happens when you least expect it
in the middle of the night or when you’re on the bus. It is a good idea to keep a music
sketchbook handy so you can jot down an idea before it “evaporates.”

I find starting with an empty full-page score to be intimidating, so I always begin by

using sketches on one, two, or three staves. I always begin simply, with a single brush
stroke: a note, an interval, a chord, a “lick.” If I like it, I might repeat it on the same, or
perhaps a different, pitch axis. I am a fanatic about bass lines, so I try to be conscious of
what is going to happen in the bass voice right away. (It may not be the string bass; it
may be baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, or the left hand of the piano!)

The first four measures are usually the most difficult to conceive (although I have been
lucky sometimes and have come to the writing desk with an idea firmly in mind). Once
the first four measures are laid out, I usually try to develop those initial ideas for several
measures. Hopefully, I will then have the makings of an A section, or at least an a
subdivision of a gestating A section.

Confused about uppercase and lowercase letters? Remember that when an uppercase
letter (A, B, etc.) is used in formal analysis, it refers to a complete episode, not the short
phrase of a song form, as in aaba or abac, and not a portion of an episode. However, a
complete episode of a longer composition (an A section, a B section, etc.) may contain
subdivisions that can be defined with lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.), whether those
subdivisions represent song form or just contrasting musical ideas. (It should be noted
that the beginning of an episode in a composition is often assigned an uppercase letter
on the score and on the parts for rehearsal purposes. Subdivisions are usually labeled
with just a measure number.)

To facilitate the creation of a b subdivision in the first A episode, I usually introduce

a new motif. I often think of words with opposing meanings and try to find a way to
express those opposites motivically. Word opposites like major/minor, tonal/modal,
slow/fast, high/low, stable/restless, loud/soft, active/passive, treble/bass, or
foreground/background can sometimes suggest musical direction.

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JAZZ COMPOSITION THEORY AND PRACTICE

Sometimes I connect the a and b subdivisions with a short interlude (four or eight
measures). Turn to the next selection, “Dynamic Duo,” and listen to the CD. Notice that
the A section, which begins at measure 23, contains two subdivisions (labeled “a” and
“b” on the score for descriptive purposes). The a and b sections are connected by a short
interlude at measure 39.

Once you have an A section (with or without subdivisions) more or less the way you
want it, there are several ways you can go:

1. Repeat the A section with orchestral variations and/or countermelodies. (If the
variations are substantial, you may even consider this part the B section!)

2. Go into a holding pattern (an interlude) before proceeding, using a pedal point in the
bass with motivic fragments over the top.

3. Further develop the A section using the usual techniques of sequence, inversion,
retrograde, truncation, extension, augmentation, modulation, etc.

4. Begin the B section, which may consist of additional motivic development of the A
section (e.g., in a different modal context), or the first solo, or perhaps a combination.
For example, the solo may be accompanied by motivic references in the background.

5. Begin the B section with a completely new motif or theme.

6. Pause, go back, and create an intro to your piece that sets up the A section and that
may have some use later as an interlude or coda (for example, an ostinato).

You can then continue to extend the form in many different ways:
• A, B, interlude, solos, etc.
• A, B, A, C, A, D, etc. (This is like classical rondo form.)
• A, B, interlude, then develop A more in a new tonality or modality and at a
different pitch axis
• A, B, C, then develop B, then solo over an ostinato taken from the introduction, etc.

Eventually, you are going to want to bring the piece to a point of climax. (Indeed, there
may be some mini-climaxes along the way.) The primary climax should occur approxi-
mately two thirds to three quarters of the way through. Following the climax there will
probably be a recapitulation (return) to a portion of the initial material. There should be
definite references to the original motivic material before you end the piece.

The internal form of “Dynamic Duo” is detailed in the next section. “Dynamic Duo” is
a composition based on a descending half-step motif. The A and B sections are similar,
but there is one significant difference based on these word opposites: foreground/
background. In the A section, the trumpet and tenor are in the foreground as they play
the main theme, while the rest of the ensemble plays a supporting role echoing the
half-step motif in the background. In the B section, the ensemble is in the foreground as
they play the main theme, while the trumpet and tenor play the supporting role echoing
the half-step motif in the background. In other words, there is a reversal of roles.

The A and B sections both have a and b subdivisions. The C section contains solos for
trumpet and tenor (the “Dynamic Duo”) and backgrounds derived from the principal

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CHAPTER 8 MOTIVIC COMPOSITION

motivic material. The D section contains the primary climax following some
contrapuntal layering of the main theme and the main motif. A recapitulation of the
introduction and the B section follows, and a final chord with a motivic echo concludes
the piece.

“Dynamic Duo”—Internal Form:

Measures 1–22: Introduction

1–4 loud ensemble chord
5–14 half-step motif stated by trumpet and tenor
15–22 piano plays half-step motif in augmentation to set up the
A section

Measures 23–66: A section (Exposition)

subdivision a
23–30 main theme stated by trumpet and tenor; half-step motif
echoed in turn by saxes, trumpets, and trombones
31–38 theme in melodic sequence; half-step motif echoed again
39–42 transition interlude
subdivision b
43–50 new triplet motif introduced with descending guide tones
51–54 triplet motif repeated with diminished chord arpeggio
55–58 concerted rhythm section figure answered by trumpet
and tenor
59–68 piano plays half-step motif again to set up the B section

Measures 67–100: B section (Development)

subdivision a
67–74 main theme played by ensemble; half-step motif echoed
by trumpet and tenor
75–82 theme in melodic sequence; half-step motif echoed again
83–86 transition interlude
subdivision b
87–92 triplet motif used with high target note
93–96 triplet motif with a different diminished chord arpeggio
97–100 concerted ensemble figure

Measures 101–150: C section (Further development with solos)

Measures 151–166: D section (Further development with climax)

151-162 contrapuntal layering of main theme and main motif
163–166 primary climax with loud ensemble chord (as in the intro)
followed by D.S.

Measures 5–22 and 67–100: Abbreviated B section (Recapitulation)

Measures 167–169: Coda

167–169 final chord followed by final motivic response

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JAZZ COMPOSITION THEORY AND PRACTICE

51 Dynamic Duo
Ted Pease
Intro
Fast Swing = 120
main motif stated by trumpet and tenor in octaves
5

saxes echo motif

7

motif with augmentation by piano (repeated at A )

15 to 67

A (“a”):
main theme stated by trumpet and tenor; motif echoed in turn by saxes, trumpets, and trombones
23

theme in melodic sequence motif echoed again

29 31

transition-interlude
35 39

(“b”):
triplet motif introduced with descending guide tones
43 3 3
3 3

triplet motif repeated with diminished arpeggio

49 51 3
3 3

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CHAPTER 8 MOTIVIC COMPOSITION

concerted rhythm section figure transition-interlude sets up B

55 59

61

B (“a”):
main theme played by ensemble trumpet and tenor play half-step motif
67

main theme in sequence

72 75

trumpet and tenor answer with motif

78

8va trombones echo motif

(“b”):
transition-interlude triplet motif with higher target note
83 87
3 3

triplet motif (cont.)

89 3 3 93 3
3

concerted ensemble figure

95 3 97 last time after D.S.

C SOLO FORM (trumpet 1st solo: tenor 2nd solo with backgrounds)
101 C–7

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JAZZ COMPOSITION THEORY AND PRACTICE

109 E –7

1
E–7 D Maj7/G E Maj7/A C Maj7/B D Maj7/C
117 1st time

(2nd time)

DMaj7/C FMaj7/B FMaj7/E DMaj7/G BMaj7/B

125

2
132 A Maj7/D B /B D Maj7/G E Maj7/A

139
C Maj7/B D Maj7/C G Maj7/D
3

E Maj7/E 3 CMaj7/G A/B B /B

144 3

D tutti contrapuntal layering of main theme and main motif

151

D.S. al Coda 1
primary climax and Coda 2
157

final chord followed by motivic response

from trumpet and tenor
(B /E)
167

210