sequence (music)
A musical phrase immediately repeated at a different pitch. The opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony furnishes a familiar example.
Portions of the summary below have been contributed by Wikipedia.
A sequence in music occurs when a given melodic or harmonic passage is successively repeated at different pitches (transposed). Although stereotypically associated with the music of Antonio Vivaldi, this device is widespread in music history. A well-known example of a diatonic sequence is the refrain from the Christmas carol "Angels We Have Heard on High" as illustrated below:
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