Lesson plan
Diminished second
In modern Western tonal music theory, a diminished second is the interval produced by narrowing a minor second by one chromatic semitone. In twelve-tone equal temperament, it is enharmonically equivalent to a perfect unison; therefore, it is the interval between notes on two adjacent staff positions, or having adjacent note letters, altered in such a way that they have no pitch difference in twelve-tone equal temperament. An example is the interval from a B to the C immediately above; another is the interval from a B to the C immediately above. : { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20 1 } } In particular, it may be regarded as the "difference" between a diatonic and chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from B to C is a diatonic semitone, the interval from B to B is a chromatic semitone, and their difference, the interval from B to C is a diminished second. Being diminished, it is considered a dissonant interval.
Article summary
In modern Western tonal music theory, a diminished second is the interval produced by narrowing a minor second by one chromatic semitone. In twelve-tone equal temperament, it is enharmonically equivalent to a perfect unison; therefore, it is the interval between notes on two adjacent staff positions, or having adjacent note letters, altered in such a way that they have no pitch difference in twelve-tone equal temperament. An example is the interval from a B to the C immediately above; another is the interval from a B to the C immediately above. : { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { \time 4/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 1 = 20 1 } } In particular, it may be regarded as the "difference" between a diatonic and chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from B to C is a diatonic semitone, the interval from B to B is a chromatic semitone, and their difference, the interval from B to C is a diminished second. Being diminished, it is considered a dissonant interval.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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