SEMITONE Definition & Meaning

semitone

[sem-ee-tohn, sem-ahy-]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Music.

a pitch interval halfway between two whole tones.

semitone

/ ˌsɛmɪˈtɒnɪk, ˈsɛmɪˌtəʊn /

noun

Also called (US and Canadian): half step.��an interval corresponding to a frequency difference of 100 cents as measured in the system of equal temperament, and denoting the pitch difference between certain adjacent degrees of the diatonic scale ( diatonic semitone ) or between one note and its sharpened or flattened equivalent ( chromatic semitone ); minor second Compare whole tone

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

semitonic adjective
semitonal adjective
semitonally adverb
ˌ��𳾾�ˈ�ٴǲԲ�� adverb

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of semitone¹

First recorded in 1600–10; semi- + tone

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Those 12 semitones are the foundation of most Western music.

From

What about his String Quartet No. 3, “Black Church,” from 1995: Can the way the players tear through sequences of semitones be seen as a tip of the hat to fast-picked streaks of electric-guitar blues?

From

The difference between them is less than a quarter of a semitone.

From

An example of the transformed mood is the ending of the Carlos-Élisabeth duet, sung a semitone lower in the 1867 French.

From

Padel, whose previous collections include a verse biography of Darwin, here gives Beethoven the same treatment, summoning his “holy zone / of concentration” where “three descending semitones / say there is answer in the world.”

From

Semito-Hamitic semitrailer

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