EN sequence compositionTechnique core term Support my free tools
repeated pattern at different pitch levels
What is it?
A sequence is a melodic, harmonic, or contrapuntal pattern repeated systematically at new pitch levels.
What does it do?
Take a short melodic, harmonic or contrapuntal unit and restate it a step (or a third, or a fifth) higher or lower, then again, marching the same shape through pitch space. Keep every interval literally intact and it is a real sequence (an exact transposition, which tends to pull you out of the key); keep the shape but bend the intervals to stay inside the scale and it is a tonal sequence. The workhorse of the Baroque is the descending-fifths (circle-of-fifths) sequence — roots falling a fifth each step, C–F–B♭–E♭… — which Corelli established as a standard pattern and Vivaldi and Bach ran constantly. Two or three repetitions is the sweet spot; more and the ear starts to predict you.
A sense of purposeful momentum — the music seems to climb or descend by its own logic, generating drive and direction without new material. The circle-of-fifths version in particular sounds like being pulled steadily downhill toward a cadence.
In context
A sequence is the restatement of a motif or passage at a higher or lower pitch in the same voice. A real sequence transposes exactly; a tonal sequence transposes within the key. The descending-fifths (circle-of-fifths) sequence is the most common type, central to Corelli, Vivaldi and Bach.
Equivalent terms
- DA sekvens
- DE Sequenz
- IT sequenza
- FR séquence
- ES secuencia