various themes

twinkle twinkle little star
played again an octave up
bizet's women in a row
varying slightly one by one
throw a party. rinse. repeat.
the theme larger than a phrase.

nightly choice of meat and starch
the morning news
npr’s top-of-the-hour, every hour
the choices at the cafeteria
– the soup du jour and the coffee
semesters and essays
geraniums and lilies and perennial sage

josh, josh. please, please. repeat.
each variation is punctuated by closure.
Baroque doubles, chaconne and passacaglia (the important thing to remember about a passacaglia is that the ground is invariant), varied strophes, cantus firmus, parody mass, chorale prelude
recapitulations, serial variations
ornamentation: adding embellishment
simplification: reducing the theme melody to an essential skeleton

rhythmic crescendo
a gradual change in density, complexity and texture
as things repeat and repeat
and change and repeat
and repeat and repeat

Adrienne D. Mishkin