ple 11. Fragment of Beethoven.]

the entire four-measure sentence is evidently one motive, for there is
no recognizable indication of an interruption at any point. The same
is true of the two melodies given in Ex. 8.

The following illustrates an irregular (uneven) association of
members:--

[Illustration: Example 12. Fragment of Mozart.]

Here again, there may be a disposition to adopt the upper line of
brackets, assigning a single measure to each motive. But both here,
_and in Ex. 10_, the student is advised to adhere to the two-measure
standard; he will avoid much needless confusion by so doing,--at least
until he shall have so developed and sharpened his sense of melodic
syntax that he can apprehend the finer shades of distinction in the
"motion and repose" of a melody. Adopting the lower line of brackets,
we discover successive members of unequal length, the first one
containing two, the next one three measures.

PRELIMINARY TONES.--It is a singularly effective and pregnant quality
of the element of musical rhythm, that its operations are not bounded
by the vertical bars which mark off the measures. That is to say, a
rhythmic figure (and, in consequence, a melodic figure or motive) does
not necessarily extend from bar to bar, but may run from the middle (or
any other point) of one measure, to the middle (or corresponding point)
of the next; precisely as prosodic rhythm comprises poetic feet which
begin either with an accented or with an unaccented syllable. See Ex.
10. Hence the significant rule, _that a melodic member may begin at
any part of a measure_, upon an accented or an unaccented beat, or upon
any fraction of a beat. For example:--

[Illustration: Example 13. Fragments of Mendelssohn.]

[Illustration: Example 13 continued. Fragments of Mendelssohn and
Mozart.]

In No. 1, the motive begins squarely with the measure, upon the
accented beat. In No. 2, the same motive is enlarged by two tones at
the outset, which locates its beginning upon the fourth 8th--the second
half of the second beat. In No. 3 the motive begins upon an accented
beat, but it is the lighter (secondary) accent of the 3d beat. The
various conditions of unaccented beginnings in Nos. 4, 5 and 6 are
easily recognizable. In No. 7 quite a large fraction of a measure
precedes the first accent (at the beginning of the full measure).
Examine, also, all the preceding examples, and note the different
accented or unaccented