half-step
Smallest musical distance
A half-step is the smallest interval in standard Western music—the distance between two adjacent keys on a piano, white or black.
Moving from C to C-sharp is a half-step; so is E to F.
Two half-steps make a whole step.
In military contexts, a half-step is a marching pace of fifteen inches, half the normal stride.
semitone
Minimum Western musical interval
flat · tone · scale · note · octave · enharmonic · diatonic · frequency · transpose · tuning
stair
Step between floors
edge · tiptoe · cautious · tentative · hesitant · gradual · incremental · small · partial · slight
- half-measuresband-aid, token effort, lip service, stopgap, quick fix
musical interval size
half-stepwhole step
Two-semitone interval
whole tone · octave · leap · skip · perfect fifth