List of meantone intervals
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of intervals of extended meantone temperament
. These intervals constitute the standard vocabulary of intervals for the Western common practice era. Here 12-EDO refers to the size of the interval in 12 equal divisions of the octave temperament
, which is the most common meantone temperament of the modern era, 19-EDO to 19 equal temperament
, 31-EDO to 31 equal temperament
, and 50-EDO to 50 equal temperament. Note that several of the intervals for 31-EDO and 50-EDO are absent from the table.
In How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care), pp. 91-92, Ross W. Duffin states: "specifying that the major semitone should be 3/2 the minor semitone [a 3:2 ratio] creates a 31-note division of the octave, which, in turn, closely corresponds to extended-quarter-comma meantone
... the 5:4 ratio [whose] extended-sixth-comma meantone corresponds to the 55-division... extended-fifth-comma meantone [corresponds to] the 43-division of the octave [in which the] ratio of the major to minor semitone is 4:3." The other meantone correspondencies: a 1:1 ratio producing a 12-division (1/11-comma meantone)... "2:1 [which] results in a 19-division (1/3-comma meantone)... 5:3, which results in a 50-division" (2/7-comma meantone) are derived from these statements. [Brackets added for readability.]
The column of ratios gives a ratio or ratios approximated by the interval in septimal meantone temperament
. An augmented interval is increased by a chromatic semitone, and a diminished interval decreased.
Meantone temperament
Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a stack of perfect fifths, but in meantone, each fifth is narrow compared to the ratio 27/12:1 in 12 equal temperament, the opposite of...
. These intervals constitute the standard vocabulary of intervals for the Western common practice era. Here 12-EDO refers to the size of the interval in 12 equal divisions of the octave temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
, which is the most common meantone temperament of the modern era, 19-EDO to 19 equal temperament
19 equal temperament
In music, 19 equal temperament, called 19-TET, 19-EDO, or 19-ET, is the tempered scale derived by dividing the octave into 19 equal steps . Each step represents a frequency ratio of 21/19, or 63.16 cents...
, 31-EDO to 31 equal temperament
31 equal temperament
In music, 31 equal temperament, 31-ET, which can also be abbreviated 31-TET, 31-EDO , , is the tempered scale derived by dividing the octave into 31 equal-sized steps...
, and 50-EDO to 50 equal temperament. Note that several of the intervals for 31-EDO and 50-EDO are absent from the table.
In How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care), pp. 91-92, Ross W. Duffin states: "specifying that the major semitone should be 3/2 the minor semitone [a 3:2 ratio] creates a 31-note division of the octave, which, in turn, closely corresponds to extended-quarter-comma meantone
Quarter-comma meantone
Quarter-comma meantone, or 1/4-comma meantone, was the most common meantone temperament in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and was sometimes used later. This method is a variant of Pythagorean tuning...
... the 5:4 ratio [whose] extended-sixth-comma meantone corresponds to the 55-division... extended-fifth-comma meantone [corresponds to] the 43-division of the octave [in which the] ratio of the major to minor semitone is 4:3." The other meantone correspondencies: a 1:1 ratio producing a 12-division (1/11-comma meantone)... "2:1 [which] results in a 19-division (1/3-comma meantone)... 5:3, which results in a 50-division" (2/7-comma meantone) are derived from these statements. [Brackets added for readability.]
The column of ratios gives a ratio or ratios approximated by the interval in septimal meantone temperament
Septimal meantone temperament
In music, septimal meantone temperament, also called standard septimal meantone or simply septimal meantone, refers to the tempering of 7-limit musical intervals by a meantone temperament tuning in the range from fifths flattened by the amount of fifths for 12 equal temperament to those as flat as...
. An augmented interval is increased by a chromatic semitone, and a diminished interval decreased.
12-EDO (≈1/11c) | Quarter-comma | 19-EDO (≈1/3c) | 31-EDO (≈1/4c) | 50-EDO (≈2/7c) | Note (from C) |
Roman No. |
Name | Classic ratios |
Septimal ratios |
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Steps | Cents | Cents | Steps | Cents | Steps | Cents | Steps | Cents | |||||
Unison Unison In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance... |
1:1 | ||||||||||||
Diminished second Diminished second In modern Western tonal music theory a diminished second is the interval between notes on two adjacent staff positions, or having adjacent note letters, whose alterations cause them, in ordinary equal temperament, to have no pitch difference, such as B and C or B and C... |
128:125 | 36:35 Septimal quarter tone A septimal quarter-tone is an interval with the ratio of 36:35 , which is the difference between the septimal minor third and the Just minor third , or about 48.77 cents wide. The name derives from the interval being the 7-limit approximation of a quarter tone... |
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Chromatic semitone | 25:24 | 21:20 Septimal chromatic semitone In music, a septimal chromatic semitone or minor semitone is the interval 21:20 . It is about 84.47 cents. The septimal chromatic semitone may be derived from the harmonic series as the interval between the twentieth and twenty-first harmonics.... |
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Minor second Minor second In modern Western tonal music theory a minor second is the interval between two notes on adjacent staff positions, or having adjacent note letters, whose alterations cause them to be one semitone or half-step apart, such as B and C or C and D.... |
16:15, 27:25 | 15:14 | |||||||||||
Whole tone | 9:8, 10:9 | ||||||||||||
Diminished third Diminished third In classical music from Western culture, a diminished third is the musical interval produced by narrowing a minor third by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from A to C is a minor third, three semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to C, and from A to C are diminished thirds,... |
144:125 | 8:7 | |||||||||||
Augmented second Augmented second In classical music from Western culture, an augmented second is an interval produced by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to D is a major second, two semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to D, and from C to D are augmented seconds, spanning... |
75:64, 125:108 | 7:6 Septimal minor third In music, the septimal minor third , also called the subminor third, is the musical interval exactly or approximately equal to a 7/6 ratio of frequencies. In terms of cents, it is 267 cents, a quartertone of size 36/35 flatter than a just minor third of 6/5... |
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Minor third Minor third In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the minor third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor third spans three semitones, the major... |
6:5, 32:27 | ||||||||||||
Major third Major third In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the major third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two: the major third spans four semitones, the minor third three... |
5:4 | ||||||||||||
Diminished fourth Diminished fourth In classical music from Western culture, a diminished fourth is an interval produced by narrowing a perfect fourth by a chromatic semitone. For example, the interval from C to F is a perfect fourth, five semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to F, and from C to F are diminished fourths,... |
32:25 | 9:7 Septimal major third In music, the septimal major third , also called the supermajor third and sometimes Bohlen–Pierce third is the musical interval exactly or approximately equal to a just 9:7 ratio of frequencies, or alternately 14:11. It is equal to 435 cents, sharper than a just major third by the septimal... |
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Augmented third Augmented third In classical music from Western culture, an augmented third is an interval produced by widening a major third by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to E is a major third, four semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to E, and from C to E are augmented thirds, spanning... |
125:96 | 21:16 | |||||||||||
Perfect fourth Perfect fourth In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there... |
4:3, 27:20 | ||||||||||||
Augmented fourth | 25:18, 45:32 | 7:5 | |||||||||||
Diminished fifth | 36:25, 64:45 | 10:7 | |||||||||||
Perfect fifth Perfect fifth In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones... |
3:2, 40:27 | ||||||||||||
Diminished sixth Diminished sixth In classical music from Western culture, a diminished sixth is an interval produced by narrowing a minor sixth by a chromatic semitone. For example, the interval from A to F is a minor sixth, eight semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to F, and from A to F are diminished sixths, spanning... |
192:125 | 32:21 | |||||||||||
Augmented fifth Augmented fifth In classical music from Western culture, an augmented fifth is an interval produced by widening a perfect fifth by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to G is a perfect fifth, seven semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to G, and from C to G are augmented fifths,... |
25:16 | 14:9 | |||||||||||
Minor sixth Minor sixth -Subminor sixth:In music, a subminor sixth or septimal sixth is an interval that is noticeably narrower than a minor sixth but noticeably wider than a diminished sixth.The sub-minor sixth is an interval of a 14:9 ratio or alternately 11:7.... |
8:5 | ||||||||||||
Major sixth Major sixth In classical music from Western culture, a sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions , and the major sixth is one of two commonly occurring sixths. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two... |
5:3, 27:16 | ||||||||||||
Diminished seventh Diminished seventh In classical music from Western culture, a diminished seventh is an interval produced by narrowing a minor seventh by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from A to G is a minor seventh, ten semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to G, and from A to G are diminished sevenths,... |
128:75, 216:125 | 12:7 | |||||||||||
Augmented sixth Augmented sixth In classical music from Western culture, an augmented sixth is an interval produced by widening a major sixth by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to A is a major sixth, nine semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to A, and from C to A are augmented sixths, spanning... |
125:72 | 7:4 Harmonic seventh The harmonic seventh interval , also known as the septimal minor seventh, or subminor seventh, is one with an exact 7:4 ratio . This is somewhat narrower than and is "sweeter in quality" than an "ordinary" minor seventh, which has a just-intonation ratio of 9:5 , or an equal-temperament ratio of... |
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Minor seventh Minor seventh In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions , and the minor seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor seventh spans ten semitones, the... |
9:5, 16:9 | ||||||||||||
Major seventh Major seventh In classical music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions , and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as major because it is the larger of the two... |
15:8, 50:27 | 28:15 | |||||||||||
Diminished octave Diminished octave In classical music from Western culture, a diminished octave is an interval produced by narrowing a perfect octave by a chromatic semitone. As such, the two notes are denoted by the same letter but have different accidentals... |
48:25 | 40:21 | |||||||||||
Augmented seventh Augmented seventh In classical music from Western culture, an augmented seventh is an interval produced by widening a major seventh by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to B is a major seventh, eleven semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to B, and from C to B are augmented sevenths,... |
125:64 | 35:18 | |||||||||||
Octave Octave In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"... |
2:1 |