Motifs
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A motif is a special kind of style pattern. It is often a brief melodic or rhythmic figure, or some other sound designed to be played over other music. Unlike normal patterns, or even Embellishments, motifs are never selected automatically as the style plays. They must be played explicitly, either by an application, by a script, or by the Segment Trigger Track.
Motifs are similar to regular patterns in three important ways:
- A motif can contain multiple parts.
- Each part can play multiple variations.
- Notes are transposed according to the current chord.
However, there are differences:
- Because motifs are played on request, they do not have Groove Ranges or Chord Rhythm to limit the context in which they can play.
- Motifs have some properties normally associated with segments, including loop points and alignment options.
- A motif can also have its own band.
Motifs are usually a full measure or less in length. You create a motif using Pattern Editor in the same way you create a regular pattern. In fact, motifs and patterns are interchangeable in the Style Designer Window and the project tree.
When creating a motif, pay heed to the use of the Playmode property in the Note Properties window. Use the Fixed play mode to cause a motif to play with a fixed pitch, regardless of the chord or key playing behind it.
Just as when building a style pattern, be sure to test the motif against different chords and chordmaps. A motif that sounds satisfactory with one chord may sound unsatisfactory with another. This is particularly true if you design the motif as a variable pitch motif. You can set the motif so that it does not play with any chord you consider incompatible. As with a variation, you can open the Variation Choices window and turn off the playback of the motif for specific chords.
One challenge in building an effective motif is that a motif is often set as an interactive element and may be triggered to start at any beat in the measure. Chord changes can be inserted at any point in the motif performance. Because of these factors, a simple rhythmic motif is usually the most effective.
A motif can be copied and pasted within a style, or from one style to another. When sharing motifs between styles, be aware of the following:
- The time signature of the motif should be compatible with that of the style it is copied into. For example, 2/4 is compatible with 4/4.
- The motif's instrument assignments may change if the new style's band has assigned different instruments to the PChannels used by the motif's parts; or the motif's parts may play silently because their PChannels have never been assigned instruments by the band.
Motifs can be used for sound effects as well as music. Using DLS instruments based on non-musical sounds, you can design a sound-effects motif with variations that performs in much the same way as a secondary segment containing a Wave Track. The motif might contain a single note that triggers either a one-shot or a looped wave, or it might contain several notes, each representing a different sound.
The following topics provide more information about creating and using motifs: