In music, variation is a method where a musical idea is repeated in a changed version. The changes can affect the melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration, or any mix of these elements.

Variation is often compared to musical development, which is a different approach to achieving a similar goal. Variation focuses on one way of presenting the material at a time, while development uses parts of the material and presents them in many different ways and combinations simultaneously.

Variation techniques

Mozart’s Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" (1785), a French folk song known in English as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," demonstrates several common variation techniques. Here are the first eight bars of the original theme:

In the first variation, Mozart adds more notes and details to the simple melody.

In the fifth variation, the steady rhythm is broken, creating unexpected beats that do not follow the usual timing.

In the seventh variation, new and strong chords replace the simple harmonies of the original theme, using a series of descending fifths to extend the music.

In the eighth variation, Mozart changes the music from major to the related minor key, while using three techniques: counterpoint (two or more melodies played at the same time), suspensions (notes that are held longer than expected), and imitation (repeating a melody in different voices).

Variation techniques are often used in music that is not specifically written as a theme and variations. For example, the opening two-bar phrase of Chopin’s Nocturne in F minor returns later in the piece, but it is played as a more elegant and refined version of itself.

Debussy’s piano piece Reflets dans l'eau (1905) begins with a series of chords. These chords later change into arpeggios (notes played in a flowing, upward or downward sequence).

Sometimes, a melody is changed while the original version is still being played. In Beethoven’s Waldstein piano sonata, the main theme of the opening movement is played in the left hand, while the right hand plays a decorated version of the same melody.

Most variations expand on the original theme, but exceptions exist. In 1819, Anton Diabelli asked Viennese composers to write variations on a waltz he composed. Beethoven created 33 variations on this theme, with the 13th variation standing out for its unusual and simplified approach.

Wilfrid Mellers described this variation as "comically disruptive," noting that the original musical structure is shortened and incorporated into moments of silence.

Similarly, the first variation of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra presents a brief summary of Paganini’s original melody.

Many composers have used others’ music as a basis for their own variations. John Dowland’s Lachrimae was often used by other composers in the 17th century. In 1700, the final movement of Arcangelo Corelli’s Violin Sonata Op. 5, No. 9 opens with a simple melody:

Corelli’s contemporary and former student, Francesco Geminiani, created a version of this melody that rearranges the notes into a new structure.

According to Nicholas Cook, Geminiani’s version "reorganizes all the notes of Corelli’s melody into a new structure. With its rhythmic pattern, Geminiani’s opening becomes a distinct tune, unlike Corelli’s, which consists of a single phrase of unbroken quarter notes."

Jazz musicians also use variation techniques. For example, Gil Evans’ 1959 arrangement of George Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess changes the orchestral sound to create variation. Evans introduces a single variation that repeats five times with subtle changes in the instruments used. These variations form a background for trumpeter Miles Davis to improvise his own version of the melody.

Wilfrid Mellers (1964) wrote that this arrangement required a skilled improviser like Davis to explore the "tender frailty" of the original tune. Together, the solo melody and the orchestral colors create music that feels both innocent and tense.

Variation form

Variation forms include ground bass, passacaglia, chaconne, and theme-and-variations. Ground bass, passacaglia, and chaconne are usually based on short, repeating musical patterns called ostinato motifs. These patterns create a repeated harmonic foundation and are often structured to develop continuously over time. Theme-and-variation forms, however, focus on changing a main melody, called the theme, by altering its notes, rhythm, or accompaniment. A theme is typically between eight and thirty-two bars long and may be introduced with a separate introduction. Each variation, especially in music from the eighteenth century and earlier, usually matches the theme in length and structure. This form may have developed from musicians' need to avoid repetition in long dances with short tunes. Musicians often added improvised changes to the tunes, but the dance format required these changes to keep the same length and shape.

Variation forms can be written as standalone pieces for solo instruments or groups, or they can be part of a larger musical work. Most jazz music follows a basic structure of theme and variations.

Examples include John Bull's Salvator Mundi, Bach's Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her," Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, Violin Chaconne, and D minor solo violin suite, Corelli's La Folia Variations, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, the finales of his Third "Eroica" and Ninth "Choral" Symphonies, the finale of Brahms's Fourth Symphony, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56, Elgar's Enigma Variations, Franck's Variations Symphoniques, and Richard Strauss's Don Quixote. Both Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet and Trout Quintet use titles from his songs that serve as variation movements.

Chopin's Berceuse for piano, Op. 57, was originally called Variantes and includes 16 continuous variations based on a repeating ground bass.

History of variations

In the 14th century, the first example of a musical form called theme-and-variation appeared. However, this form became more common in the early 16th century. One of the earliest published examples is a set of pieces called diferencias for the vihuela, written by Luis de Narváez in 1538. A popular type of variation during the Renaissance was called divisions, where the basic rhythm was divided into smaller and smaller parts. The idea of starting with simple changes and moving to more complex ones has always been important in variation music, as it helps create a clear structure instead of a random sequence.

Many 16th-century English composers, such as William Byrd, Hugh Aston, and Giles Farnaby, wrote keyboard music in variation form. In the early Baroque period, famous examples include the ciaccone by Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz. Two well-known Baroque variation sets, originally written for the harpsichord, are George Frideric Handel’s The Harmonious Blacksmith and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.

During the Classical era, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote many variations, including the first movement of his Piano Sonata in A, K. 331, and the finale of his Clarinet Quintet. Joseph Haydn focused on sets of double variations, where two related themes, usually in minor and major keys, were alternately changed. Examples include the slow movement of his Symphony No. 103, called the Drumroll, and the Variations in F minor for piano, H. XVII:6.

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote many variation sets throughout his career. Some, like the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, and the Eroica Variations, Op. 35, were independent works. Others were part of larger pieces, such as the first movement of his Piano Sonata No. 12, Op. 26, or the variations in the final movement of his Eroica Symphony. Variations also appear in his later works, like the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127, the second movement of his final Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111, and the slow third movement of his Ninth Symphony, Op. 125.

Franz Schubert used his own songs as themes for five variation sets. One example is the slow movement of his String Quartet Death and the Maiden, D. 810, which is based on his song of the same name, D. 531. His Piano Quintet in A, called The Trout, D. 667, includes variations on his song The Trout, D. 550. The second movement of his Fantasie in C major is a set of variations on Der Wanderer, and the entire work is named after that song.

In the Romantic era, variation form became more developed. In 1824, Carl Czerny premiered his Variations for Piano and Orchestra on the Austrian National Hymn Gott erhalte Franz der Kaiser, Op. 73. Frédéric Chopin wrote four sets for solo piano and a set for piano and orchestra based on a song from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Charles-Valentin Alkan and Felix Mendelssohn also wrote variations. Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses is a famous example.

Johannes Brahms wrote many variation sets, some based on themes by other composers, such as Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel and Variations on a Theme by Haydn. The latter, written for orchestra, was the first variation set for orchestra alone that stood on its own. Karl Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony begins with a set of variations. Antonín Dvořák’s Symphonic Variations and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations are also well-known. Anton Arensky’s Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky is one of his most popular works.

Twentieth-century composers also wrote variation sets. Examples include:

• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra, and variations on themes by Chopin and Corelli for solo piano.
• Charles Ives: Variations on "America", 1891.
• Ernst von Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Tune for piano and orchestra, Op. 25, 1914.
• Arnold Schoenberg: Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31, and Theme and Variations, Opp. 43a and 43b.
• Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella: XV Gavotta con due variazioni, 1920; Octet: II Tema con variazioni, 1922; Ebony Concerto: III, 1945; and Variations: Aldous Huxley in memoriam, 1963–64.
• Alban Berg: Variations in Wozzeck and Lulu.
• Olivier Messiaen: Thème et variations for violin and piano, 1932.
• Miklós Rózsa: Theme, Variations, and Finale, 1933.
• George Gershwin: Variations on "I Got Rhythm" for piano and orchestra, 1934.
• Anton Webern: Variations, Op. 27 for piano, and Variations, Op. 30 for orchestra.
• Reinhold Glière: Harp Concerto in E♭, II, 1938.
• Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, 1943.
• Benjamin Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, 1937, and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra [Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell], 1946.
• William Walton: Variations on a Theme by Hindemith, 1963.
• **Leonard

Contemporary popular and electronic music

Variation techniques are common in many types of modern popular and electronic music, especially genres that use short, repeated musical ideas instead of longer themes. In styles like house, techno, garage, grime, and dubstep, music producers often change small parts of a basic melody or rhythm pattern to keep listeners interested and create a sense of growth within repeating sections.

In classical music, variation usually involves presenting a clear theme made of several measures, followed by different versions of that theme. However, in electronic dance music, changes often happen to smaller musical elements, such as just a few notes or a single sound effect. These changes can affect rhythm, pitch, sound quality, how busy the music feels, the range of notes used, or how notes are played. For example, a repeated synthesizer melody might be played with short, separated notes, using different rhythmic patterns, or its pitch might be raised or lowered to change its intensity. The sound of the melody might also change through effects like filtering or distortion. These methods help balance repetition and new ideas, similar to how classical variation works.

In many electronic music styles, the unique sound of a piece plays a major role in its structure, with special sound designs helping define the main musical idea. This is different from earlier variation traditions, where changes in melody and harmony were more important, and sound choices were less central. Music experts have compared the use of quick changes in electronic and sampler-based music to classical ideas like breaking music into smaller parts, making smaller versions of themes, or changing the texture of the music.

Repeating musical patterns, such as riffs, ostinatos, and breakbeats, are seen as modern versions of the repeated figures found in classical music. In electronic dance music, changes often happen to these short musical units, while larger sections like "drops," "breakdowns," and "build-ups" control the overall flow of energy in a way that differs from classical variation forms.

Improvised variations

Skilled musicians can create new versions of a musical theme by changing it as they play. This was common during the Baroque era, when the da capo aria, especially when played slowly, required singers to add changes during the return of the main part. During this time, Nicholas Cook explained that "the most detailed part of the music was often created by the performer, not the composer." In their instrumental sonatas, composers like Corelli, Geminiani, and Handel sometimes gave performers only the basic structure of the music. The performer was then responsible for adding decorative notes, which were essential for the music's overall sound. Cook mentions Geminiani's version of Corelli's work as an example of a case "where the composer or a performer wrote down how a movement was meant to be played."

Musicians in the Classical era also had the ability to create variations while playing. Both Mozart and Beethoven impressed their audiences with their improvisations. Modern listeners can hear what these improvised variations sounded like by listening to published works that are likely written copies of live performances. Examples include Beethoven's Fantasia in G minor, Op. 77, and Mozart's Variations on an Aria by Gluck, K. 455.

Creating detailed variations on a popular theme is a key part of jazz music. William Austin noted that jazz musicians' practice is similar to the variations on popular songs written for keyboards in the late 16th century by composers like Byrd, Bull, Sweelinck, and Frescobaldi, rather than the styles used by Beethoven and Brahms. Usually, the main theme is clearly stated at the beginning of a piece. However, some jazz musicians use a less direct method. Gamble explained that "Charlie Parker's performance of Embraceable You can only be fully understood if listeners know the original tune, because unlike many jazz performances where the theme is played first, Parker starts with an immediate improvisation and only plays a small part of the tune at the end." Coleman Hawkins' famous version of "Body and Soul" uses a similar approach. "On 11 October 1939, Coleman Hawkins recorded the 1930 song Body and Soul with an eight-piece band. The piece was already popular among jazz musicians, but Hawkins' performance was completely new. Pianist Gene Rodgers played a simple four-bar introduction before Hawkins began a three-minute solo without playing any part of the original tune, using the chord changes in a way that helped create bebop."

Improvising by making spontaneous changes to a melody, such as adding variations, decorations, or altering the original, is the foundation of most sub-Saharan African music, whether traditional or modern. This practice influences everything from melody and harmony to musical structure and rhythmic details.