Motif for the piece

In almost every Musical there is a musical motif that keeps recurring through the whole of the Musical. Sometimes this can be more then one and are usually introduced at the beginning of the show so it can be used throughout. For example, the motif in West Side Story is a tritone motif (West Side Story - The Making of a Classic 2016) and is poignant as it is often used to build tension and used as a warning for something bad happening for example in the opening (Rebecca East 2011)). From hearing a motif it should connect you automatically with the emotion and make you think of that Musical and this is why developing just the right motif was extremely important.  Sometimes Musicals can have more then one thematically link musically, for example in West Side story 'Bernstein used the tune of the opening notes of Maria as a unifying phrase throughout the show. (Shang and Paige, 2015)

The motif for my song needed to reflect the dainty and vulnerable nature of my character Ophelia, but also suggesting the floral watery death that awaits her. Therefore I decided to play it quite high in pitch, with option to change it to lower if needing to suggest her descent into madness, also changing the tempo if I use it in this situation. I have chosen a falling phrase because of this and think that this communicates not only the water but also the flowers. Although it sounds like quite a romantic motif I also think it sounds quite tragic and sad, almost melancholy which is exactly what this song is. I also end the song with this delicate falling phrase of A G# F# E because after all the madness of the rap to represent her craziness, when it ends with just the falling phrase, this suggests that she has committed suicide, which is what happens in the play Hamlet. (Shakespeare 1603)