Which statement about tonal sequences is true?

Which statement about tonal sequences is true?

• A. First segment is transposed and kept in the diatonic scale.
• B. Second segment moves to a different tonal center.
• C. Second segment is exactly intervallic transposition.
• D. Only part of first segment is transposed.

Answer: (A)

Tonal sequences hinge on taking a melodic idea and repeating it at a new pitch level while preserving the same interval pattern, all within the same key. The best statement captures this by saying the first segment is transposed and kept in the diatonic scale. In a tonal sequence, you shift the motif up or down by a constant interval, and the resulting second segment remains within the same scale, so the tonal center and key signature stay consistent. If the second segment moved to a different tonal center, that would be a modulation rather than a pure tonal sequence. If only part of the segment were transposed or the transposition weren’t diatonic, it wouldn’t reflect the standard, fully transposed, diatonic repetition that defines tonal sequences.

Tonal sequences hinge on taking a melodic idea and repeating it at a new pitch level while preserving the same interval pattern, all within the same key. The best statement captures this by saying the first segment is transposed and kept in the diatonic scale. In a tonal sequence, you shift the motif up or down by a constant interval, and the resulting second segment remains within the same scale, so the tonal center and key signature stay consistent. If the second segment moved to a different tonal center, that would be a modulation rather than a pure tonal sequence. If only part of the segment were transposed or the transposition weren’t diatonic, it wouldn’t reflect the standard, fully transposed, diatonic repetition that defines tonal sequences.