1. What's the difference between a Motive and a Phrase? He doesnt really say.

2. Also can you elaborate more on the difference between a mere variant on the motive versus developing the motive?

This book is still on my nightstand waiting to be read, so I can't be 100% sure these answers confirm to Schoenberg's ideas...

1. A motive is often a shorter fragment than a phrase, a phrase can consist of several motives. For example in Beethoven's fifth "ba-ba-ba-baa" is a motive, while most phrases consist of several such motives.

2. In a variant, the overall structure of the phrase or motive usually stays quite the same. You can change a few pitches or rhythms or add some decoration, but the basic elements of the original phrase usually appear in the variant in the same order, variated or not. When developing, you can take just a tiny detail of a motive or phrase and do whatever you want with it. When thematic material is developed, it seldom follows the same structure as the original theme but is much more fragmented. To get a better idea of these concepts you can once again turn to Beethoven and compare how he handles his material in theme and variation forms versus how he handles the material in the development section of his sonatas.

Thank you very much! I also went online and did a little extra looking and found this helpful description too, very much the same to what you're saying.

Music Phrase. Methods of motive development.


Also, what would be a good "next book" after this one? I have found that reading composition books help me to understand what the composer is thinking and therefore how to interpret the piece, and color phrases and motives better.

Best book ever! I learned everything from it and used it in my music. It made me conscious about what is going on in music.

André