Project #2

Autumn Leaves

“Les feuilles mortes” or “Autumn Leaves” was written by Joseph Kosma in 1945 and it

has been praised as being “the most important non-American standard” in the jazz community.

The song mainly consists of repeated and transformed melodic lines that create an easy to listen

to song, while still being thorough enough to be enjoyed through analysis. Its staple as a jazz

standard has these motifs, as well as its interesting chord progression, to thank for its notoriety.

The first important motif in “Autumn Leaves” can be found in the pickup measure just

before and leading into measure 5. This motif begins on the tonic of the key, ascends stepwise by

two notes, and then up again by a fourth. The next measure, being the pickup into measure 6,

also contains this motif, but it is lowered down by one step. This second transformation of the

melodic line does not match the initial motif’s exact intervals, but it does match it intervals

within the key. This motif descends by step two more times in the next two measures, still

matching the previous melodic lines’ intervals and ascending pattern. Once the motif has been

played four times, starting on a different note each time, the motific phrase is played again. This

time, the phrase is ended with an alternative final pattern (mm. 11, 12) that returns us to the tonic

to complete the phrase before moving onto the next.

The next motif begins at the end of m. 12, leading into m. 13. It consists of three notes

ascending up the D minor scale and ending on the downbeat. The first form of the motif starts on

D# and ends on F#. The second appearance of the motif in m. 13 begins on E and ends on G. The

third transformation of the motif in m. 14 begins on F# and ends on A. And the final use of the

motif in m. 16 starts on A# and ends on C. While finding the pattern of each motif might be clear

to some, what is slightly more hidden is that each appearance of the motif creates a greater
pattern where the beginning of each motif simply ascends up the D minor scale. The same

applies to the first motif analyzed. In that case though, each reintroduction of the motif

descended down the scale instead.

“Autumn Leaves” various motifs create an intricate song based on repetition and

transforming that repetition. These patterns help to make the song simple to learn and allow for

an easier pathway into mastering and being able to further develop even more new ideas based

off of the original melody in the form of solos and improvisation.