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A sequence in music occurs when a given melodic
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
 or harmonic passage is immediately repeated at a different pitch level. It is possible for melody or harmony to form a sequence without the other participating.

A sequence can be described according its direction (ascending or descending in pitch) and its adherence to the diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic

Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterise Scale , and are also applied to Interval , Chord , notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony....
 scale -- that is, the sequence is diatonic if the pitches remain within the scale, but chromatic (or non-diatonic) if pitches outside of the diatonic scale are used and especially if all pitches are shifted by exactly the same interval
Interval (music)

In music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitch of two notes.Intervals may be described as:*vertical if the two notes sound simultaneously...
 (i.e., they are transposed
Transposition (music)

In music transposition refers to the process of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval . For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another Key ....
).






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A sequence in music occurs when a given melodic
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
 or harmonic passage is immediately repeated at a different pitch level. It is possible for melody or harmony to form a sequence without the other participating.

A sequence can be described according its direction (ascending or descending in pitch) and its adherence to the diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic

Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterise Scale , and are also applied to Interval , Chord , notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony....
 scale -- that is, the sequence is diatonic if the pitches remain within the scale, but chromatic (or non-diatonic) if pitches outside of the diatonic scale are used and especially if all pitches are shifted by exactly the same interval
Interval (music)

In music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitch of two notes.Intervals may be described as:*vertical if the two notes sound simultaneously...
 (i.e., they are transposed
Transposition (music)

In music transposition refers to the process of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval . For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another Key ....
). The non-diatonic sequence tends to modulate
Modulation (music)

In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature....
 to a new tonality
Tonality

Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchy pitch relationships are based on a Key "center" or Tonic . The term tonalit? originated with Alexandre-?tienne Choron and was borrowed by Fran?ois-Joseph F?tis in 1840 ....
 or to cause temporarily tonicisation.

At least two instances of a sequential pattern -- including the original statement -- are required to identify a sequence, and the pattern should be based on several melody notes or at least two successive harmonies (chords). Although stereotypically associated with the music of Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed il Prete Rosso , was a Baroque music composer and Venice priest, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist, born and raised in the Republic of Venice....
, this device is widespread in Western music history.

Examples

A well-known popular example of a threefold descending diatonic sequence is found in the refrain
Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in Poetry; the "chorus" of a song. Poetry fixed forms that feature refrains include the villanelle, the virelay, and the sestina....
 from the Christmas carol
Christmas carol

File:Youth Choir in Healdsburg.jpgA Christmas carol is a Carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ....
 "Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High

"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol.The words of the song are based on a traditional France carol known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes ....
," as illustrated immediately below. The one-measure
Bar (music)

In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined as a given number of beat of a given duration. The word measure is heard more frequently in the United States, while bar is used in other English-speaking countries, although musicians generally understand both usages....
 melodic motive
Motif (music)

In music, a motif or motive is a perceivable or salience recurring fragment or succession of notes that may be used to construct the entirety or parts of complete melody and theme s....
 is shifted downward at the interval
Interval (music)

In music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitch of two notes.Intervals may be described as:*vertical if the two notes sound simultaneously...
 of a second, and the harmonic aspect does so likewise by following the circle of fifths
Circle of fifths

In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the twelve tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys....
:

Angelswe Gloria
The following three-fold ascending chromatic (non-diatonic) sequence occurs in the duet of Abubeker and Fatima from Act III of César Cui
César Cui

C?sar Antonovich Cui was a Russian of France and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army Officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and Music journalism; in this sideline he is known as a member of The Five, the group of Russian com...
's opera Prisoner of the Caucasus (compare a similar passage in the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known United States songwriter duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein....
 song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 "Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi

"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 in music Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical theatre The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after their mother's death....
," composed almost exactly 100 years later):