whole tones

A form of whole tone — The musical interval equal (exactly or approximately) to a frequency ratio of 8/7, 9/8, or 10/9, depending on the tuning system used. In meantone tunings (including twelve-tone equal temperament), there is only one whole tone, though tuning systems that are not meantone have a "major tone" of 9/8 and a "minor tone" of 10/9.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of whole tone
Cite this entry
APA

whole tones. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whole%20tones

MLA

“whole tones.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whole%20tones. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whole tones,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whole%20tones.

Source: whole tones on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.