All Topics  
Minor sixth

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Minor sixth
 
 
  Topics Minor sixth Topic Home

A minor sixth is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span six 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....
 degrees. The prefix 'minor' identifies it as being the smaller of the two (by a chromatic semitone); its larger counterpart being a major sixth
Major sixth

A major sixth is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span six diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor sixth....
. The minor 6th is abbreviated as m6, its inversion
Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
 is the 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 in equal temperament is enharmonically equivalent to the augmented fifth
Augmented fifth

An augmented fifth is a musical interval that spans five Musical scale degrees and consists of eight semitones. The prefix "augmented" identifies it as being one semitone larger than the perfect fifth....
. Its most common occurrence is between the third
Third

Third may refer to:*3 , such as the 3rd of something*Fraction , such as 1/3*The Third *Third World, economically underdeveloped nations*Third-class degree, type of British undergraduate degree classification...
 and (upper) root
Root (chord)

In music the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as being built or tonality centered upon. This feeling of centeredness is aurally perceivable for those who grew up with European music, and its verbal labelling is a basic skill for the musically trained....
 of major chord
Major chord

In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a Root , a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major Triad ....
s.

A minor sixth 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 ....
 most often corresponds to a pitch ratio of 8:5 or 1:1.6 , or various other ratios, while in an equal tempered tuning, a minor sixth is equal to eight 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....
s, a ratio of 1:28/12 (approximately 1.587), or 800 cent
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....
s, 13.686 cents smaller.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Minor sixth'
Start a new discussion about 'Minor sixth'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A minor sixth is the smaller of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span six 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....
 degrees. The prefix 'minor' identifies it as being the smaller of the two (by a chromatic semitone); its larger counterpart being a major sixth
Major sixth

A major sixth is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span six diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor sixth....
. The minor 6th is abbreviated as m6, its inversion
Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices....
 is the 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 in equal temperament is enharmonically equivalent to the augmented fifth
Augmented fifth

An augmented fifth is a musical interval that spans five Musical scale degrees and consists of eight semitones. The prefix "augmented" identifies it as being one semitone larger than the perfect fifth....
. Its most common occurrence is between the third
Third

Third may refer to:*3 , such as the 3rd of something*Fraction , such as 1/3*The Third *Third World, economically underdeveloped nations*Third-class degree, type of British undergraduate degree classification...
 and (upper) root
Root (chord)

In music the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as being built or tonality centered upon. This feeling of centeredness is aurally perceivable for those who grew up with European music, and its verbal labelling is a basic skill for the musically trained....
 of major chord
Major chord

In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a Root , a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major Triad ....
s.

A minor sixth 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 ....
 most often corresponds to a pitch ratio of 8:5 or 1:1.6 , or various other ratios, while in an equal tempered tuning, a minor sixth is equal to eight 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....
s, a ratio of 1:28/12 (approximately 1.587), or 800 cent
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....
s, 13.686 cents smaller. The ratios of both major and minor sixths are corresponding numbers of the Fibonacci sequence, 5 and 8 for a minor sixth and 3 and 5 for a major.

The minor sixth is one of consonances of common practice music, along with the unison
UNISON

UNISON ? the Public Service Union is the second largest trade union in the United Kingdom, with over 1.3 million members.It was formed in 1993 when three previous public sector trade unions, the National Association of Local Government Officers , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service Employees merg...
, octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
, perfect fifth
Perfect fifth

The perfect fifth is the musical interval between a note and the note seven semitones above it on the musical scale. For example, the note G lies a perfect fifth above C; D is a perfect fifth above G, C is a perfect fifth above F, and so on....
, major and minor thirds, major sixth
Major sixth

A major sixth is the larger of two commonly occurring musical intervals that span six diatonic scale degrees. The prefix 'major' identifies it as being the larger of the two ; its smaller counterpart being a minor sixth....
 and (sometimes) the perfect fourth
Perfect fourth

The perfect fourth is a musical interval which spans four diatonic scale scale degree. It consists of the note and the note five semitones above it on the musical scale....
. In the common practice period, sixths were considered interesting and dynamic consonances along with their inverses the thirds, but in medieval times
Medieval music

The term medieval music encompasses European music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends in approximately the middle of the fifteenth century....
 they were considered dissonances unusable in a stable final sonority; however it should be noted that in that period they were tuned very flat, to the Pythagorean
Pythagorean tuning

Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency relationships of all interval are based on the ratio sesquialterum. Its name comes from medieval texts which attribute its discovery to Pythagoras, but its use has been documented as long ago as 3500 B.C....
 minor sixth of 128/81. 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 minor sixth is classed as a consonance of the 5-limit
Limit (music)

In music theory, limit can refer to a variety of methods used to characterize the harmonies found in a piece of music, genre of music, or by extension, the harmonies that can be made with a particular scale or class of scales....
.

Any note will only appear in major scales from any of its minor sixth major scale notes (for example, C is the minor sixth note from E and E will only appear in C, D, E, F, G, A and B major scales).

See also

  • musical tuning
    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....
  • list of meantone intervals
    List of meantone intervals

    The following is a list of intervals of meantone temperament. These intervals constitute the standard vocabulary of intervals for the Western common practice era....