How Beethoven Writes A Motif - Examining the 5th Symphony
It’s perhaps the four most recognizable notes in Western Classical Music. It’s the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and we’ve probably heard it a hundred times. Which is exactly why my composition professor gave me this exercise: he asked me to write down 10-15 things about this motif - without using music theory. Of course, we can say it is three Gs and then an E flat. We can call it a descending Major 3rd. We can say it is three eighth notes and then a half note. But that’s the music theory answer. Can we look at it with new eyes and really break down this motif into its component parts, and dig into what really makes this motif so memorable?
It’s often called the “Fate motif”, which Beethoven allegedly wrote in a letter to a friend that this motif was to represent “fate” knocking on his door - a reference to his growing deafness. Whether or not that is true is up for debate, but it certainly is a fascinating lens to view this motif through. See it’s not just the four notes, it’s how these four notes are played. It’s also that anyway we slice it up, this motif, in itself, is a dichotomy.
1. We have energy and then idleness,
2. work and then rest,
3. Tension and then resolution
There is a bit of a frenzy with the eighth notes, but the half note provides a reprieve. Then there is the silence between the opening and the next phrase. But this is not a peaceful silence, it’s a very tense silence, a silence with all the anxiety of what will come next. It’s a silence that will leave the listener holding their breath, rather than breathing a sigh of relief. Beethoven understood that there are as many colors of silence as there are of sound, and he uses those colors here to great effect.
4. We have separation then sustain
The separate is very small, and it goes by very quickly. But, simply by virtue of being a repeated pitch, the opening three notes are separated ever so slightly.
5. Mobile yet static
We have a very powerful opening statement. But where did it really go? It was a declaration, sure, but it hasn’t really gone anywhere yet. And because of that...
6. There’s an Uncertain meter/time/tempo
Where are we? what is the meter? were those quarter notes? We really don’t know yet. And the second statement of the motif doesn’t answer that question either. If you are just listening to the motif, you have no sense of direction.
7. But a blank that can be filled in if you have the score, is that it begins on an off-beat.
There is an eighth rest before the opening note, and then we see that the half note falls on the beat. This also tells us what beat is meant to be emphasized.
8. There’s also an uncertain harmony/tonality
9. A lot of that is because the motif is made of only two pitches
What is the key? is it Eb major? is it C minor? the V in Ab major? Again, we don’t really know. Because of the forceful nature of the opening, it is much more ominous than cheerful, but there is that uncertainty nonetheless.
10. The motif is a microcosm of harmony
Again, not much has been revealed about harmony yet, but we soon learn the piece is very clearly in C minor. And while the opening partially outlines a C minor triad, we could see this opening as a reference to “away” and then “home”. Throughout the movement, this motif takes different character forms - sometimes ominous, sometimes victorious. That is made possible by the two main tonal centers of the first movement: C minor, and it’s relative major E-flat.
11. It’s also a microcosm of themes
Again, with the dichotomy of C minor and E flat major, the contrasting textures in the motif provide the contrasting characters for the two main themes of the movement. We could say the motif is frantic and then calm. By parallel, the opening theme is frantic, escalating, built mostly on the motif ascending, while the secondary theme in E-flat major, is calmer, somewhat triumphant, even if it short-lived and eventually overrun by C minor. Additionally, the secondary theme is also built on this opening motif.
12. It’s also a microcosm of form
In classical sonata form, we have three main parts the Exposition - where the themes are introduced, or exposed, the Development - where the themes are developed, and the Recapitulation - where the themes are repeated, usually in their entirety. However, there is an optional fourth section of sonata form, which is the coda - sort of an extension to the form. The coda can vary in length, but it is usually relatively brief. For Haydn, the coda might have only been two or three statements of a V-I cadence to put an exclamation point on the end. For Beethoven at the end of this first movement, he reaches the end of the typical sonata form material, and launches into a coda so long it is really a second development.
13. Not only that, but it is a microcosm of movements
The motif shows up in every other movement, which is uncommon. Typically, the motif from the first movement is only for the first movement. But Beethoven ties the entire piece together by having this one motif dictate the direction of the entire symphony. Additionally, the Fourth movement acts as a coda for the whole.
This couldn’t possibly be an exhaustive list. Scholars have been picking this piece apart since its premiere 210 years ago in 1808. And perhaps you have found other ways to describe this motif than I listed – I’d love to hear them in the comments.
But, what I really hope from this analysis, is that it gives you a new way of looking at the construction of motifs. I was given this exercise as a way of looking at motifs that I had written. So, I’ll say the same to you. If you’ve written a motif or a theme, and you can’t seem to move past it – write down 10-15 things about it, that say nothing about music theory, and see if that doesn’t help get you out of the rut. Maybe it just gets you past the writer’s block, but for me, every time I’ve done it, it has given the piece a completely new direction as I learned the character of the motif more fully.
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