Diminished fifth

A diminished fifth is an interval of six semitones.

The interval between C and Gb, for example, is a diminished fifth as it contains six semitones.

An interval of six semitones is also known as "tritone" (three tones).

In a lot of common scales, such as the standard major scale and the natural minor scale, the interval between the root on the scale and the fifth note on the scale is contains seven semitones. This more common interval is called a perfect fifth. The diminished fifth is "diminished" as it is one semitone smaller than the more common perfect fifth. The diminished fifth is a "fifth" if it occurs between the first and the fifth note on a scale (or more generally between two notes with three notes in between).

In principle, a diminished fifth is the same as an augmented fourth. Both intervals contain six semitones. A diminished fifth through would refer to the interval between the root on a scale and the fifth note on the scale (or more generally between two notes with three notes in between) whereas an augmented fourth would refer to the interval between the root on a scale and the fourth note on the scale (or more generally between two notes with two notes in between).

The diminished fifth occurs naturally, for example, in the Locrian scale. An example of the Locrian is B, C, D, E, F, G, A and the interval between B and F is equal to six semitones.

See also:
Intervals on the chromatic scale, Intervals on the chromatic scale (index)

Add new comment

Filtered HTML

  • Freelinking helps you easily create HTML links. Links take the form of [[indicator:target|Title]]. By default (no indicator): Click to view a local node.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.