quarter-tone music
Music using intervals of half a semitone (quarter tones), dividing the octave into 24 equal parts rather than the standard 12, creating a more finely graded pitch spectrum.
In Depth
Charles Ives wrote pieces for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart — the pianists sit side by side, and the combined sound creates intervals that exist in no standard Western tuning system.
Related Terms
More in Theory
Browse allA sharp, flat, or natural sign that alters a note from the prevailing key signature.
Symbols placed before notes to raise or lower their pitch by a semitone or return them to their natural state
Relating to sound or the properties of sound, especially music produced without electronic amplification.
The natural minor scale, with the pattern W-H-W-W-H-W-W, producing the most common minor tonality in Western music.
Music in which some element of the composition is left to chance or to the performer's discretion.
The second-highest voice type, or an instrument pitched between soprano and tenor.
The measure of a sound wave's intensity, perceived as loudness or volume.
One or more notes before the first full bar of a piece, also called a pickup or upbeat.