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Tritone

A tritone, also called an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth, is 6 half steps: from C up to F♯. Exactly half an octave: restless and unstable, it pulls hard toward the notes either side of it.

CF♯

The tritone at a glance

The tritone: its size, short name, inversion and frequency ratio
Tritone
Half steps6 (three whole steps)
Letters it spans4: C D E F
Short nameTT
Also calledan augmented fourth or a diminished fifth
Inverts toItself: a tritone turned over is a tritone
Frequency ratio1.414 on a piano, 45:32 in just intonation

Every note’s frequency in hertz is on the note frequency chart.

Songs that start with a tritone

Going up: "Maria" from West Side Story ("Ma-ri").

Going down: The riff of Black Sabbath’s "Black Sabbath", from the high G down to C♯.

Sing the tune’s first notes in your head and you have the interval from any starting note.

The tritone in chords

Between the third and the seventh of a dominant seventh chord (B to F in G7), which is why a G7 pulls so hard back to C.

Every chord’s notes, to hear on a keyboard, are on piano chords.

A tritone from every note

The note a tritone above each of the twelve notes
FromUp a tritone
CF♯
D♭G
DG♯
E♭A
EA♯
FB
G♭C
GC♯
A♭D
AD♯
B♭E
BE♯

Questions about the tritone

What is a tritone in music?

A tritone, also called an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth, is 6 half steps: from C up to F♯. Exactly half an octave: restless and unstable, it pulls hard toward the notes either side of it.

Why is it called a tritone?

Because it spans three whole tones: C to D, D to E and E to F♯. It is six half steps, half an octave.

Is a tritone an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth?

Both, by spelling. C to F♯ is an augmented fourth and C to G♭ a diminished fifth: the same keys on a piano, six half steps apart.

What songs start with a tritone?

"Maria" from West Side Story ("Ma-ri"). Going down: The riff of Black Sabbath’s "Black Sabbath", from the high G down to C♯.

What is the inversion of a tritone?

A tritone. Move the lower note up an octave and a tritone becomes a tritone: their half steps add up to twelve.

Other intervals

Minor secondMajor secondMinor thirdMajor thirdPerfect fourthTritonePerfect fifthMinor sixthMajor sixthMinor seventhMajor seventhOctave

All of them side by side, with how to name one, are on the interval chart.

Put intervals in a song

Open the free editor with a beat playing, then draw a melody note by note in the piano roll and hear every leap. No account needed to start.

Start a beatIntervals

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