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Leitmotifs (which in this context I mean as a motif or theme representing a person, place, thing, idea, etc.) are one of the only music theory concepts that have really escaped into (comparatively) popular understanding. Recently, however, I’ve come across a couple of other related terms: the Idée Fixe (specifically the definition provided by Winifred Phillips, where it describes a melody that represents something more universal and evocative than a simple leitmotif, such as a main theme) and musical theatre’s Contrafactum (such as Howard Ho’s definition as a recurring, recognizable melody that can be assigned to multiple contexts and characters, serving more as a consistent vibe).

I was wondering if there are any other significant terms along these lines, describing recurring melodic material in a narrative setting?

Aaron
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Legoman
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    Not only melodies but also chords can represent an idea. They are sometimes quoted by other composers to refer to the work and the idea they represent in it. I don't know whether there's a specific term for this, but those chords are often known by a name, such as the "Tristan chord". – guesty Sep 12 '22 at 00:44
  • I would suspect not given that Undertale (and I expect Deltarune) fandom repeatedly uses the word "leitmotif" when referring to common recurring melodies in their soundtracks. I think WiKirby mainly stuck to "arrangement" and "based on" when referring to similarly common recurring melodies in the 2nd latest Kirby game. – Dekkadeci Sep 12 '22 at 04:20
  • I'm not sure you've completely understood these terms. See https://music.stackexchange.com/a/106802/19678 // Maybe *theme and variations*? – aparente001 Sep 17 '22 at 01:56
  • @aparente001 Not seeing any contradiction to what I said in that stackexchange post. "Theme and variations" doesn't really get into what I'm talking about here--I mean it's a closely related subject, but it's a little more of an umbrella category than this. I'm more just talking about the various *flavors* of recurring motifs in conjunction with narrative, usecases, that sort of thing. Like all of what I listed are of course themes and (almost by necessity) have variations, but "theme and variation" isn't the best way to describe the nuances between them. – Legoman Sep 17 '22 at 05:17
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    @Legoman - I'm just fishing, here. I was trying to think of more descriptions of "recurring melodic material." I think theme and variations fits. Maybe *recitative* also -- although they are generally not hugely melodic. / Maybe you're going to have to invent some terms yourself. – aparente001 Sep 18 '22 at 01:15

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