tritone

views updated May 23 2018

tritone. Interval of augmented 4th which comprises 3 whole tones, e.g. from F up or down to B. Difficult to sing, and in medieval times its use was prohibited. There was saying, involving the Hexachord names for the notes, Mi contra fa diabolus est in musica, ‘Mi against fa is the devil in music’, hence the frequent use of the tritone in comps. to suggest evil.