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A tritone is a musical interval that spans three whole tones.

The tritone divides the octave into two equal parts. It can appear in both diminished and dominant 7th chords.

A tritone is an interval made up of three whole tones. As an example, C to D is one tone, D to E another, and E to F sharp a third tone. The interval, therefore, between the C and the F sharp is an augumented fourth (or, for keyboard players it could also be regarded as C - G flat or a diminished fifth). This augmented fourth was regarded in medieval times as a very dissonant interval, so dissonant that it was given the nickname 'the devil's own interval', and was therefore never used in sacred music because of its 'horrible' and 'evil' sound.

Nowadays, to our more sophisticated ears, the augmented fourth sounds much more acceptable, if a little hollow. It is now used in all forms of music, both sacred and secular. A particularly stunning use of the C-Fsharp augmented fourth interval can be seen in the English composer Benjamin Britten's masterpiece the 'War Requiem', written in the 1960s for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in the UK that was rebuilt after being destroyed by Nazi bombers in World War II. The first movement 'Requiem Aeternam' is based solely on the augmented fourth or tritone to wonderful effect - both in the choral parts and in the tolling of tubular bells throughout.

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an interval of three whole steps.

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14y ago

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It's a type of scale that follows this sequence: 1-3-5-3-1 or do-mi-so-mi-do. There's also a diminished and minor triad.
It's a set of three notes - that can be stacked vertically in thirds.

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7y ago
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A tritone, also known as a diminished 5 or augmented 4, is the interval that is exactly half an octave and spans 6 half steps.

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12y ago
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A tritone is used in music as a space in melody or as musical interval that is the sum of three near whole or full tones. The tritone was used extensively in the Baroque Era.

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11y ago
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A tritone is a musical interval composed of 3 adjacent whole tones, with no half-steps (sharps and flats.) For instance from F to G, G to A, and A to B.

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10y ago
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D. an interval of three whole steps.

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Marielle Hane

Lvl 1
3y ago
great answer ty!

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Q: In music what is a tritone used for?
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