Praxis 5113

Explanation

The first four pitches of a major scale ascend by the interval pattern W-W-H (whole step, whole step, half step), which corresponds to a major second, a major second, then a minor second. This matches the pattern described in the question. Option A (natural minor) begins W-H-W, so the second interval would be a minor second, not a major second. Option C (Lydian) begins W-W-W, meaning the third interval would also be a major second (whole step), not a minor second. Option D (Dorian) begins W-H-W, matching the pattern of natural minor and not the stem's description.

Explanation

Hemiola is a rhythmic phenomenon in which the normal metrical grouping is temporarily contradicted. Most commonly, in triple meter (such as 3/4), two measures of three beats each are reinterpreted so that the accent pattern suggests three groups of two beats (6/4 feel), or vice versa. This creates a cross-rhythm effect and is frequently used at cadential points in Baroque and Classical music. Option A describes polytonality or bitonality, not hemiola. Option C describes a trill or mordent—specific ornaments—not a rhythmic device. Option D describes quartal harmony, a 20th-century compositional technique based on stacked fourths rather than the traditional third-stacking (tertian harmony).

Explanation

When the leading tone (B in C major) is doubled in the dominant chord, both voices carrying B are expected by common-practice convention to resolve upward to the tonic (C). This creates two voices moving in the same direction by the same interval to the octave (both landing on C), which constitutes parallel octaves—a prohibited voice-leading error in strict four-part writing. Option A (parallel fifths) would require two voices moving in parallel motion a fifth apart, which is a separate error not caused by doubling the leading tone in this way. Option B (unresolved tendency tone) would occur if the leading tone moved somewhere other than the tonic, which is not the case here—it resolves correctly, just in two voices simultaneously. Option C (augmented second) is a melodic interval error associated with certain minor scale contexts and is unrelated to the doubling described.

Explanation

When arranging for a mixed ensemble such as a woodwind quintet, a composer must navigate the fact that each instrument has different transposition requirements (clarinet in B-flat, French horn in F), different dynamic projection capabilities (the French horn projects differently at forte than the flute), and different characteristic registers where each instrument sounds most idiomatic. Balancing these factors is central to effective arranging. Option A is incorrect because parallel motion is a concern in counterpoint and voice-leading in all contexts; it is not uniquely absent from piano writing. Option C is incorrect because wind instruments are fully capable of playing chromatic passages; eliminating chromaticism would alter the character of the theme unnecessarily. Option D is incorrect because homorhythmic writing is just one texture available to the arranger; counterpoint, melody-and-accompaniment, and other textures are equally valid and often preferred for interest and balance.

Explanation

The pitch-class set {0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9} is one of the six all-combinatorial hexachords identified by Milton Babbitt. An all-combinatorial hexachord has the property that its complement (the remaining six pitch classes) can be obtained through at least one of the four standard twelve-tone operations—transposition, inversion, retrograde, or retrograde-inversion—applied to the hexachord itself. This makes the row particularly flexible for combinatorial compositional techniques. Option A is incorrect because inversion is always a valid transformation in twelve-tone technique; it simply maps each interval to its inverse and still produces a legitimate row. Option C is incorrect and contradicts the definition of a twelve-tone row: the two hexachords must be complementary (together accounting for all twelve pitch classes), not identical—identical hexachords would repeat pitch classes. Option D is incorrect because {0, 1, 4, 5, 8, 9} is an augmented-scale/hexatonic collection (based on alternating minor seconds and major thirds), not a whole-tone scale (which would be {0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}); furthermore, twelve-tone rows are not categorically unsuitable for any particular compositional context.