noun
- a musical interval consisting of three whole tones, equivalent to an augmented fourth or diminished fifth
Usage: music theory
Examples
- The tritone was once called the ‘devil’s interval’ in medieval music.
- Jazz musicians frequently use the tritone substitution in their chord progressions.
- The opening of ‘The Simpsons’ theme contains a prominent tritone.
- Medieval composers avoided the tritone because it sounded dissonant.
- The tritone divides the octave exactly in half.
- She practiced playing tritones to improve her ear training skills.