classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

from

Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

, a diminished sixth () is an interval produced by narrowing a

minor sixth In music theory, a minor sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and is one of two commonly occurring sixths (the other one being the major sixth). It is qualified as ''minor'' bec ...

by a

chromatic semitone In modern Western tonal music theory an augmented unison or augmented prime is the interval between two notes on the same staff position, or denoted by the same note letter, whose alterations cause them, in ordinary equal temperament, to be one ...

.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . Specific example of an d6 not given but general example of minor intervals described. For example, the interval from A to F is a minor sixth, eight semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to F, and from A to F are diminished sixths, spanning seven semitones. Being diminished, it is considered a

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unple ...

interval,Benward & Saker (2003), p.92. despite being equivalent to an interval known for its consonance. Its

inversion Inversion or inversions may refer to: Arts * ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas * Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory * ''Inversions'' (novel) by Iain M. Bank ...

is the

augmented third In classical music from Western culture, an augmented third () is an interval of five semitones. It may be produced by widening a major third by a chromatic semitone.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . Fo ...

, and its

enharmonic equivalent In music, two written notes have enharmonic equivalence if they produce the same pitch but are notated differently. Similarly, written intervals, chords, or key signatures are considered enharmonic if they represent identical pitches that are ...

is the

perfect fifth In music theory, a perfect fifth is the Interval (music), musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitch (music), pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so. In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval f ...

"Wolf fifth"

A severely

diminished sixth is observed when a fixed-pitch instrument limited to twelve notes per octave is tuned using

Pythagorean tuning Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency ratios of all intervals are determined by choosing a sequence of fifthsBruce Benward and Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', seventh editi ...

or a

meantone temperament Meantone temperaments are musical temperaments; that is, a variety of Musical tuning#Tuning systems, tuning systems constructed, similarly to Pythagorean tuning, as a sequence of equal fifths, both rising and descending, scaled to remain within th ...

with a fifth flatter than 700 cents. Typically, this is the interval between G and E. Since this interval was considered to "howl like a wolf" (because of the beating), and since it sounded like a badly out-of-tune fifth, this interval is called the "wolf" fifth. A justly tuned fifth is the most

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

interval after the

perfect unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

and the

perfect octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the Pythagorean interval, diapason) is an Interval (music), interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a na ...

References

Diminished intervals Sixths (music) {{music-theory-stub