semitones
Adjacent piano keys
Semitones are the smallest intervals in Western music—the distance between adjacent keys on a piano, including black keys.
A half step.
Twelve semitones make an octave.
The term appears in discussions of melody, harmony, and tuning: The melody rises by two semitones.
Also called half tones.
Smallest Western musical interval
- chromaticRelating to color
- fretAgitation or fingerboard guide
- pitchFrequency of sound
- intervalDuration between two points
cents · enharmonic · tritone · octave · diminished · augmented · diatonic · transposition
Vocal music-making
- solfegeSyllable-based pitch training
- intervalsGaps between events
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- vibratoOscillating pitch effect
portamento · glissando · bending · intonation · flat · sharp · off-key · autotune
Measure of relative size
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
- atonalWithout musical key
- SchoenbergAtonal method inventor
- ascendingMoving upward
descending · sharps · flats · accidentals · stepwise · sequential · embellishment
Inborn behavioral nature
- well-temperedHaving steady composure
- PythagoreanOf ancient Greek mathematics
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- centsDollar subdivisions
frequency · ratio · calibration · tuner · harmonics · overtones · beats · pure
half-step
Smallest Western musical interval
interval · cents · enharmonic · tritone · octave · diminished · augmented · diatonic · transposition · modulation
singing
Vocal music-making
vibrato · portamento · glissando · bending · intonation · flat · sharp · off-key · autotune · raga
scale
Measure of relative size
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
- atonalWithout musical key
- SchoenbergAtonal method inventor
ascending · descending · sharps · flats · accidentals · stepwise · sequential · embellishment
temperament
Inborn behavioral nature
- well-temperedHaving steady composure
- PythagoreanOf ancient Greek mathematics
- intonationPitch variation in speech
cents · frequency · ratio · calibration · tuner · harmonics · overtones · beats · pure · adjusted
- Dozensdozen, twelfth, twelfths, twelvefold, duodecimal
semitoneswhole tones
Two-semitone pitch intervals
tones · octaves · leaps · perfect fifths · fifths