MotifLab

Music is a story, and your little tune is the hero. Grow a three-note motif into a whole piece across the six stages of a story, become a variation detective, and learn how composers build big music from one small idea. Take it at your own pace — everything works with the sound off.

Make music

Your studio and your detective lab. Compose a piece where your motif is the hero, then spot how a tune has been transformed.

🎼 Motif Studio Start from an idea, then grow it across six story stages — Opening, Meet the Motif, Development, Contrast, Homecoming and Resolution. Watch (and hear) your motif stretch, flip, and settle. Save your finished pieces to this device. 🔎 Variation Detective See an original idea and a variation of it, then work out which move a composer used — flip it, reverse it, stretch it, shrink it, move it, repeat it up the steps, or keep just a fragment. Read the shapes, or turn the sound on to hear the difference.

Learn the ideas

Quick question rounds on the tools, the story arc, and the building blocks of music. A hint is always there after a first try. Take them in any order.

The Development Tools The moves a composer makes to develop a motif · grades Gr 5–6 · 15 questions The Story Arc The 6 stages a composition travels through · grades Gr 6–7 · 12 questions The Building Blocks The nine elements every piece is made of · grades Gr 6–7 · 12 questions

Meet the cast — the characters who teach this

Each one stands for an idea you’ll practice. Tap a character to read their illustrated story and hear their audio drama.

Explore all the stories →

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