Now you understand pitch on a grand orchestral scale. We turn to the smallest intervals in western music the tones and semitones.
The letters of the alphabet are separated by tones and semitones.
E to F is a semitone. Twice a semitone is a tone.
F to G is a tone. The alphabet is not equidistant.
F to G is twice the distance of E to F.
| Tone | Tone | Semitone | Tone | Tone | Tone | Semitone | ||||||||
| C | 1 | D | 1 | E | ½ | F | 1 | G | 1 | A | 1 | B | ½ | C |
The ruler of pitch
Western music is divided into 12 equidistant semitones.
How do we write the interval between F and G?
We introduce new notation.
A semitone higher than F is F#. A semitone lower than G is Gb. F# and Gb are the same pitch. They represent the semitone between F and G.
The step-like alphabetic ascension of tones and semitones is familiar to all who play the piano keyboard.
| The Ruler of Pitch | ||||||||||||||||
| C | C# | D | D# | E | F | F# | G | G# | A | A# | B | C | C# | D | D# | E |
| Db | Eb | Gb | Ab | Bb | Db | Eb | ||||||||||
| ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ |