In the context of musical intervals, "stepwise motion" typically refers to movements between consecutive notes in a scale—either by whole steps or half steps.
Let's analyze each option in terms of stepwise motion:
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A whole step, two half steps, a whole step: This pattern consists of a whole step (2 semitones), followed by two half steps (each 1 semitone), and finishing with a whole step (2 semitones). This creates a sequence: W, H, H, W.
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A half step, three whole steps: This pattern starts with a half step (1 semitone) and is followed by three whole steps (each 2 semitones). The sequence would be: H, W, W, W. This can create a relatively broad range but is not merely stepwise in the way "stepwise motion" often implies.
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Four half steps: This consists of moving four semitones up or down, which is distinctly stepwise because it involves only half steps.
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Two whole steps, two half steps: This pattern moves up two whole steps (4 semitones) followed by two half steps (2 semitones), which has a more pronounced intervallic leap than classic stepwise motion typically signifies.
Among these options, the most straightforward interpretation of stepwise motion is that it consists primarily of the smallest intervals, which are half steps. Therefore, while several options involve stepwise motion, four half steps is the most direct representation of a simple stepwise melody, as it only involves half steps.
Thus, the answer is:
four half steps.
1 answer