User:Sonia/Diminished fourth
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Inverse | augmented fifth | |
---|---|---|
Name | ||
Other names | - | |
Abbreviation | d4 | |
Size | ||
Semitones | 4 |
In music, a diminished fourth (Play (help·info)) is an interval that spans four diatonic scale degrees, and is narrower than a perfect fourth by a chromatic semitone.
A diminished fourth is enharmonically equivalent to a major third; that is, it spans the same number of semitones, and they are physically the same pitch in twelve-tone equal temperament. For example, B–D♯ is a major third; but if the same pitches are spelled B and E♭, as occurs in the C harmonic minor scale, the interval is instead a diminished fourth. In other tunings, however, they are not necessarily identical. For example, in 31 equal temperament the diminished fourth is slightly wider than a major third, and is instead the same width as the septimal major third.