Major second

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Major second

A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."
The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:

is a musical interval that occurs between the first and second degrees

Degree (music)

In music theory, a scale degree is the name of a particular note of a scale in relation to the Tonic . The degrees of the traditional major and minor scales may be identified several ways:...
of a major scale

Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian mode scale is one of the diatonic scale Musical scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher....
, the tonic

Tonic (music)

The tonic is the first note of a scale in the tonality method of musical composition. The chord #The Triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord ....
and the supertonic

Supertonic

In music or music theory, the supertonic is the second degree or note of a diatonic scale . For example, in the C major scale , the supertonic is the note D; and the supertonic chord uses the notes D, F, and A....
.

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A major second , also called a whole step or a whole tone,One source says step is "chiefly US."
The preferred usage has been argued since the 19th century:

"Mr. M. in teaching the Diatonic scale calls a tone a step, and a semitone a half step ; now, who ever heard of a step in music, or in sound ? Can any one suppose that a pupil will understand the meaning of tone and semitone any sooner by calling them step or half step, … ?"
"… to use the term tone for a whole step is certainly objectionable …"

is a musical interval that occurs between the first and second degrees

Degree (music)

Major scale

Tonic (music)

Supertonic

Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
is the minor seventh

Minor seventh

A minor seventh is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span seven diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'minor' identifies it as being the smaller of the two , its larger counterpart being a major seventh....
. On a musical keyboard

Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave....
, a major second is the interval between two keys separated by one key, counting white and black keys alike. On a guitar string, it is the interval separated by two fret

Fret

A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck. On most modern western culture instruments, frets are metal strips inserted into the fingerboard....
s. In moveable-do solfège

Solfege

In music, solf?ge is a pedagogical solmization technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solf?ge syllable ....
, it is the interval between do and re.

A minor second is a semitone

Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone,Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and others use "half tone".One source says that step is "chiefly US", and that half-tone is "chiefly N....
smaller than a major second, and an augmented second

Augmented second

An augmented second is enharmonically equivalent to a minor third in equal temperament, but is not the same interval in other meantone tunings....
is a semitone larger.

In just intonation

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
, the major second can correspond to at least two different frequency ratios: 9/8 (the major tone), and 10/9 (the minor tone), which differ by the syntonic comma

Syntonic comma

In music theory, the syntonic comma , also known as the comma of Didymus the Musician or Ptolemy comma, is a small interval between two musical notes, equal to the frequency ratio 81:80, or around 21.51 Cent s....
. In meantone temperament

Meantone temperament

Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a chain of perfect fifths, but in a meantone, each fifth is narrowed by the same amount in order to make the other intervals, like the major third, closer to their ideal just intonat...
and 12 tone equal temperament these two intervals are approximated by the same interval. Some equal temperaments with larger divisions of the octave, such as 34-ET

34 equal temperament

In musical theory, 34 equal temperament, also referred to as 34-tet, equal division of the octave or 34-et, is the Temperament tuning derived by dividing the octave into 34 equal-sized steps....
, 41-ET

41 equal temperament

In music, 41 equal temperament, often abbreviated 41-tET, 41-EDO, or 41-ET, is the Musical temperament scale derived by dividing the octave into 41 equally-sized steps....
, 53-ET

53 equal temperament

In music, 53 equal temperament, called 53-TET, 53-equal division of the octave, or 53-ET, is the Temperament scale derived by dividing the octave into fifty-three equally large steps....
, and 72-ET

72 equal temperament

In music, 72 equal temperament, called twelfth-tone, 72-tet, equal division of the octave, or 72-et, is the Temperament scale derived by dividing the octave into twelfth-tones, or in other words 72 equally large steps....
distinguish between these two intervals.

The major second is considered one of the more dissonant

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, Chord , or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance ? considered unstable . The strictest definition of consonance may be only those sounds which are pleasant, while the most general definition includes any sounds which are used freely....
intervals of the diatonic scale

Diatonic scale

In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated....
. It is common in many different musical systems, including Arabic music, Turkish music and music of the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
, among others. It occurs in both diatonic and pentatonic scales.

. Here, middle C

Middle C

C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solf?ge.In Western music, the expression "Middle C" refers to the musical note "C" located exactly between the two staff of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass voice and soprano voices....
is followed by D, which is a tone 200 cents

Cent (music)

The cent is a logarithmic scale unit of measure used for musical interval . Typically cents are used to measure extremely small intervals, or to compare the sizes of comparable intervals in different tuning systems, and in fact the interval of one cent is much too small to be heard between successive notes....
sharper than C, and then by both tones together.

Major and minor tones

In music

Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, a major tone or a minor tone is one of two intervals, occurring in some tuning systems

Musical tuning

In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* #Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* #Tuning systems, the various systems of Pitch used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical basis....
, that may be called a whole tone or major second. The major tone is the larger of the two, while the minor tone is the corresponding smaller interval. The major tone is the 9:8 interval in just intonation

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
, and it is an approximation thereof in other tuning systems, while the minor tone is the 10:9 ratio .

In any system where there is only one size of whole tone, such as all meantone temperament

Meantone temperament

Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a chain of perfect fifths, but in a meantone, each fifth is narrowed by the same amount in order to make the other intervals, like the major third, closer to their ideal just intonat...
s, the term major tone is not used and the interval is simply called a whole tone.

Unlike almost all uses of the terms major and minor, these intervals span the same number of semitones in standard equal temperament

Equal temperament

Equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of Musical tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratios....
. For example, a major third

Major third

A major third is one of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span three diatonic scale degrees, the other being the minor third. It is denoted 'major' because it is the larger of the two: the major third is a leap of four semitones, the minor third three....
and minor third

Minor third

A minor third is a Interval of three semitones. It is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals compounded of two steps of the diatonic scale....
are about 71 cents different in just intonation

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequency of notes are related by ratios of whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval; in other words, the two notes are members of the same harmonic series ....
, which are approximated by intervals one semitone apart. A major tone and minor tone are about 22 cents different in just intonation, and they are approximated by the same interval.

Major second

Major and minor tones

See also