slendro
A five-tone scale system used in Javanese and Balinese [gamelan music](/term/gamelan%20music) with roughly equal intervals.
In Depth
Claude Debussy heard a Javanese gamelan at the 1889 Paris Exposition and was so captivated by the slendro scale that it influenced his harmonic language for the rest of his career.
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.