microtonal
Smaller than semitones
Microtonal describes music that uses intervals smaller than the semitones of standard Western tuning.
Where a piano divides the octave into twelve equal steps, microtonal systems explore the spaces between those keys—quarter tones, sixth tones, or intervals from non-Western traditions.
The piece required a specially tuned microtonal guitar.
Microtonal music can sound exotic, dissonant, or eerily in-between to ears trained on conventional scales.
Minimum Western musical interval
- centsDollar subdivisions
- commaPunctuation marking pauses
- shrutiIndian microtonal pitch interval
- ragaIndian melodic framework
enharmonic · detune · inflection · glissando · portamento · vibrato · bend · fretless
Inborn behavioral nature
Innovative cultural pioneers
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- boundary-pushingExceeding accepted limits
- exploratorySeeking to discover
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
semitone
Minimum Western musical interval
raga · enharmonic · detune · inflection · glissando · portamento · vibrato · bend · fretless
temperament
Inborn behavioral nature
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- unconventionalDeparting from standard practice
- boundary-pushingExceeding accepted limits
- exploratorySeeking to discover
- harmonyharmony, chord, chords, triad, triads
- Experimental Musicnoise music, experimental music, avant-garde music, sound art, electroacoustic
- pitch techniquespitch bend, bend, vibrato, glissando, portamento
- music productioncomposing, autotune, synthesizer, producing, arranging
- tuningtuning, intonation, temperament, equal temperament, tuning pegs
microtonalequal temperament
Uniform pitch division system
standard tuning · half-step · chromatic · well-tempered · diatonic