Tone

Tone, in music, is the sound made by the vibration of a musical instrument or of the human voice. Tones differ in quality, pitch, intensity, and duration. Musicians use the word tone to describe the sound of each key on the piano, symbolized by a note. They also use it to describe the intervals on a keyboard. An interval between a white key and the nearest white or black key, is a half, or minor, tone. Two half tones (as from C to D on the keyboard) create the interval of a whole, or major, tone. Musicians also use the word tone to describe sound quality.

Contributor: Thomas W. Tunks, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist Univ.

Tone

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