semitonner

A semitonne is a musical interval that spans half the distance of a whole tone. In Western music, the whole tone is defined as two semitones, and the semitone is the smallest interval that can be perceived as distinct by the human ear. The semitone is also known as a half step or a minor second.

In equal temperament tuning, which is the most common tuning system used in Western music, a semitone is approximately 100 cents, where a whole tone is 200 cents. This means that the frequency ratio between two adjacent semitones is the twelfth root of two, which is approximately 1.05946.

The semitone is a fundamental building block of Western music theory. It is used to construct scales, chords, and melodies. For example, the major scale is constructed by stacking whole tones and semitones in a specific pattern. The semitone is also used to define the pitch class, which is a set of pitches that are equivalent under octave transposition.

The semitone is not the only type of interval in music. Other intervals, such as the minor second, major second, and minor third, are also used in Western music. However, the semitone is the smallest interval that can be perceived as distinct by the human ear, and it is the foundation upon which all other intervals are built.