Quarter tone

Encyclopedia : Q : QU : QUA : Quarter tone

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A quarter tone is an interval half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which is half a whole tone.

In equal temperament the quarter tone is 50 cents or 2^1/24 or 1.0293. In 24 tone equal temperament, or the quarter tone scale, it is the smallest step. In just intonation it is often 36:35 or 33:32.

Many composers are known for having written music including quarter tones or the quarter tone scale, first proposed by Mikhá'il Mishaqah (Touma 1996, p.16), including:

• Alois Hába
• Charles Ives
• Krzysztof Penderecki
• Tui St. George Tucker
• Ivan Alexandrovich Vïshnegradsky

Two quarter tones equal a half tone, and three make a three-quarter tone. A three-quarter tone may also be considered half of a minor third.

Music of the Middle East

• See also: Arab music and Arab tone system

While the use of quarter tones in Western music is a more recent and experimental phenomenon, these and other microtonal intervals have been an important part of the music of the Arab world, Turkey, Iran and neighboring lands for many centuries.

Many Arabic maqamat contain intervals of three-quarter tone size; a short list of these follows. (Note: Due to the lack of widespread support for Unicode quarter tone characters, a regular flat symbol is used with a strikethrough. The proper form has a short diagonal stroke through the stem, not a straight stroke through the bowl.)

• Bayati (بياتي): D E♭ F G A B♭ C D
• Rast (راست): C D E♭ F G A B♭ C (with a B♭ replacing the B♭ in the descending scale)
• Saba (صبا): D E♭ F G♭ A B♭ C D♭ E F
• Sikah (سيكاه): E♭ F G A B♭ C D E♭

The medieval philosopher and scientist Al-Farabi described a number of intervals in his work in music, including a number of quarter tones.

Greek tetrachords

The enharmonic genus of the tetrachord described by the Greek Archytas consists of two quarter tones and a major third.

See also

• List of quarter tone pieces

External links

• [Tonalsoft Encyclopaedia of Tuning]

Source

• Habib Hassan Touma (1996). The Music of the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340888.

 

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