tritones
Three whole steps
A tritone is a musical interval spanning three whole tones—exactly half an octave.
The interval sounds unstable and dissonant, historically called "the devil in music" because of its jarring quality.
Tritones appear throughout music theory and composition, often creating tension that resolves to more consonant intervals: The tritone in a dominant seventh chord pulls toward resolution.
Violent disagreement or collision
- discordLack of agreement
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- tensionStretched or strained state
- unresolvedLacking final determination
jarring · dissonant · harshness · cacophony · grating · disharmony · atonality · stridency
Sonically identical, spelled differently
- intervalDuration between two points
- semitoneMinimum Western musical interval
- equal temperamentUniform pitch division system
- inversionReversal of position
symmetry · set theory · twelve-tone · Schoenberg · serialism · microtonal · temperament
Threateningly suggestive of harm
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
tension · dark · eerie · unsettling · film score · soundtrack · The Simpsons · Black Sabbath
Fast, complex jazz style
- blue noteFlatted pitch in jazz
- Charlie ParkerBebop alto saxophone innovator
- Coltrane"Giant Steps" musician
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
substitution · comping · voicing · fusion · bop · swing · cool jazz · harmony
Simultaneous independent melodies
- BachGerman composer surname
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- preparationArranging things in advance
suspension · medieval · avoidance · polyphony · consonance
clash
Violent disagreement or collision
- discordLack of agreement
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- tensionStretched or strained state
unresolved · jarring · dissonant · harshness · cacophony · grating · disharmony · atonality · stridency · inharmonious
enharmonic
Sonically identical, spelled differently
- intervalDuration between two points
- semitoneMinimum Western musical interval
- equal temperamentUniform pitch division system
inversion · symmetry · set theory · twelve-tone · Schoenberg · serialism · microtonal · temperament
sinister
Threateningly suggestive of harm
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
suspense · tension · dark · eerie · unsettling · film score · soundtrack · The Simpsons · Black Sabbath · creepy
bebop
Fast, complex jazz style
- blue noteFlatted pitch in jazz
- Charlie ParkerBebop alto saxophone innovator
- Coltrane"Giant Steps" musician
improvisation · substitution · comping · voicing · fusion · bop · swing · cool jazz · harmony · solo
counterpoint
Simultaneous independent melodies
- BachGerman composer surname
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
preparation · suspension · medieval · avoidance · polyphony · consonance