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semitones and whole tones

Jam10Jam10 Posts: 654
edited January 2008 in Musicians and Gearheads
Is a semitone the same thing as a half step on your guitar and a whole tone the same thing as a whole step on your guitar? So when people say 3 semitones, do they mean 3 half steps?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    yes. semitone = half-step.
  • Jam10Jam10 Posts: 654
    Thanks
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    you're welcome :)
  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    This is also why Western musical scales are known as "diatonic".. Two tones, whole ones and half ones. No official microtones, as contained in Eastern music . Guitar, of course, being the instrument of chaos and anarchy, manages to sneak 1/4 tones in all the time, with little bends. The violin family can do this too, but in classical music , I imagine that would be taken as an intonation error and severely frowned on. I'm sure the gypsies did it though.
    Music is not a competetion.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    lucylespian wrote:
    This is also why Western musical scales are known as "diatonic".. Two tones, whole ones and half ones. No official microtones, as contained in Eastern music . Guitar, of course, being the instrument of chaos and anarchy, manages to sneak 1/4 tones in all the time, with little bends. The violin family can do this too, but in classical music , I imagine that would be taken as an intonation error and severely frowned on. I'm sure the gypsies did it though.


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