Semitones
In Western music, a semitone (also called a half step or half tone) is an interval between adjacent notes in a chromatic scale, represented on a keyboard as the distance between two adjacent keys. For example, C is adjacent to D♭; the interval between them is a semitone. Semitones are among the most dissonant intervals when sounded harmonically.
In music theory, a distinction is made between a diatonic semitone, or minor second (an interval encompassing two different staff positions, e.g. from C to D♭) and a chromatic semitone, or augmented unison (an interval between two notes at the same staff position, e.g. from C to C♯).
The modern tuning system of 12-tone equal temperament divides the octave into twelve equal semitones, each with a frequency ratio of the twelfth root of two (100 cents). In this system, diatonic and chromatic semitones have this same size, so a given musical interval can be represented by a specific number of semitones from any starting note. For example, a whole tone or major second spans 2 semitones, a major third 4 semitones, and a perfect fifth 7 semitones (see: Interval (music) § Number, for more on interval terminology). This counting rule still applies if the 12 notes of a chromatic scale are not equally spaced but still form a closed circle of fifths (as in various historical well temperaments), as diatonic and chromatic semitones both still correspond to a single step in the chromatic scale.
In some other tuning systems, diatonic and chromatic semitones are distinct. For example, they are not the same size in Pythagorean tuning, where the diatonic semitone is distinguished from the larger chromatic semitone (augmented unison), or in quarter-comma meantone temperament, where the diatonic semitone is larger instead. In a more general sense, "semitone" refers to a family of intervals that may vary both in size and name (see: § Semitones in different tunings, for more).
The condition of having semitones is called hemitonia; that of having no semitones is anhemitonia. A musical scale or chord containing semitones is called hemitonic; one without semitones is anhemitonic.
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