11.5: Subphrase
Subphrases are smaller than phrases but larger than motives. Most of the subphrases we encounter will be two measures long. Subphrases are called “phrase segments” and “phrase members” in other texts.
We will label subphrases with letters ( a, b, etc.). When a subphrase repeats but has slight alterations, we will put an apostrophe after the letter (e.g., a’ ) and refer to it as “a prime.” If another alteration to subphrase a occurs, we will label it as a’’ and refer to it as “a double prime.” If the subphrase is merely transposed (in a sequence), we will label it as a, not a’ in our analysis.
We are including analysis of subphrases in this text because many compositions have melodic units that are two measures long. Analyzing subphrases helps us understand the construction of melodies.
In the following example, notice that subphrases a and a’ have the same first six notes (GG♯–FF♯–BB–CC♯–EE–EE).
Here is an example of a four-measure phrase with subphrases a and b .
Notice that we are not looking at the motives within these subphrases. This is because we are looking for melodic segments that are repeated. For some compositions it is more informative to look at subphrases and less informative to identify motives if motives are not extracted and developed.
There will be times when you will notice important melodic ideas happening at three levels of analysis (motive, subphrase, and phrase), as in the following example.
There is ambiguity between motive and subphrase. Reconsider the following example from the section on intervallic change:
When you listen to the music of “The Very Thought of You” you will hear that each motive lasts for two measures. The difference is that motives are typically short—two to seven notes—whereas subphrases will usually contain six or more notes and occupy two measures (half of a four-measure phrase).