Motifs are highly important, yet often overlooked, elements within hit song melodies. We see them across the board in Top 10 hits, yet they are rarely discussed in modern songwriting education.

That’s why we are thrilled to announce that we’ve added a brand-new technique category to the Hit Songs Deconstructed Techniques Library – Motif Reinforcement.

So, what exactly is a motif?

A motif is a melodic fragment that is repeated and/or developed within and/or across sections to make a song more cohesive, familiar, memorable, and infectious. While hooks are more noticeable and defined, motifs function in more of an under-the-radar or background capacity.

To kick things off, we’re featuring a song that uses motif reinforcement to great effect, The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights. This song’s all-star team of writers, who include The Weeknd, Max Martin, Belly, DaHeala and Oscar Holter, cleverly used motif reinforcement in conjunction with standout hooks to create an earworm that’s impossible to get out of our heads.

To check out the written analysis of this technique, as well as our other newly added Motif Reinforcement techniques for Señorita, Dance Monkey and Someone You Loved, visit the Hit Song Techniques Library.

About the Hit Song Techniques Library:

This curated library provides you with some of the most effective tools and techniques that today’s hitmakers use to send their songs to the top of the charts. Each technique includes analysis, visualization and audio clips.

Technique analysis categories include: Hook Techniques, Intro Techniques, Outro Techniques, Duet/Group Lead Vocal Structure Techniques, Audience Participation Moment Techniques, Energy Techniques, Section Impact Accentuator Techniques, Sub-Genre Fusion Techniques, Chorus Vocal Structure Techniques, Departure Section Techniques, Prosody Techniques, Rhyme Techniques, and Motif Reinforcement.