In classical music from Western culture, a diminished sixth (ⓘ) is an interval produced by narrowing a minor sixth by a chromatic semitone.[1][3] For example, the interval from A to F is a minor sixth, eight semitones wide, and both the intervals from A♯ to F, and from A to F♭ are diminished sixths, spanning seven semitones.
| Inverse | augmented third |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Other names | - |
| Abbreviation | d6[1] |
| Size | |
| Semitones | 7 |
| Interval class | 5 |
| Just interval | 192:125,[2] 32:21,49:32 |
| Cents | |
| 12-Tone equal temperament | 700 |
| 24-Tone equal temperament | 700 |
| Just intonation | 743 |
Being diminished, it is considered a dissonant interval,[4] despite being equivalent to an interval known for its consonance. Its inversion is the augmented third, and its enharmonic equivalent is the perfect fifth.
"Wolf fifth"
editA severely dissonant diminished sixth is observed when a fixed-pitch instrument limited to twelve notes per octave is tuned using Pythagorean tuning or a meantone temperament with a fifth flatter than 700 cents. Typically, this is the interval between G♯ and E♭. Since this interval was considered to "howl like a wolf" (because of the beating), and since it sounded like a badly out-of-tune fifth, this interval is called the "wolf" fifth. A justly tuned fifth is the most consonant interval after the perfect unison and the perfect octave.
References
edit- 1 2 Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.54. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0. Specific example of an d6 not given but general example of minor intervals described.
- ↑ Haluska, Jan (2003). The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems, p.xxvi. ISBN 0-8247-4714-3. Classic diminished sixth.
- ↑ Hoffmann, F.A. (1881). Music: Its Theory & Practice, p.89-90. Thurgate & Sons. Digitized Aug 16, 2007.
- ↑ Benward & Saker (2003), p.92.
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