whole tone

English

Noun

whole tone (plural whole tones)

1. (music) The musical interval equal (exactly or approximately) to a frequency ratio of 8/7, 9/8, or 10/9, depending on the tuning system used. In meantone tunings (including twelve-tone equal temperament), there is only one whole tone, though tuning systems that are not meantone have a "major tone" of 9/8 and a "minor tone" of 10/9.

Synonyms

• tone
• whole step

Translations

interval approximating 9/8 or 10/9

• Finnish: kokosävelaskel (fi), sävelaskel (fi), kokoaskel
• German: Ganzton m
• Norwegian: heltone m
• Polish: cały ton (pl) m

See also

• semitone

Anagrams

• whole note