Which concept refers to the organization of pitches around a key center and its related scale?

• A. Harmony
• B. Texture
• C. Modality
• D. Tonality

Answer: (D)

Tonality describes organizing all the pitches around a central pitch, the tonic, and a corresponding scale that defines how the other notes relate to that center. In major or minor tonal systems, the scale provides a specific set of notes, and chords built from that scale create predictable relationships and resolutions that pull you back to the home note. This gives music a clear sense of key and directional pull, with cadences and harmonic progressions reinforcing the central pitch. Harmony, by contrast, deals with how notes sound together at any moment through chords and intervals, while modality focuses more on the type of scale or mode used, which may or may not establish a strong key center in the same way. The concept that ties pitches to a key center and its related scale is tonality.