augmented fifth

Inverse diminished fourth

Name
Other names -
Abbreviation A5[1]
Size
Semitones 8
Interval class 4
Just interval 25:16[2]
Cents
Equal temperament 800
Just intonation 773
Augmented fifth on C.
An augmented fifth in equal
temperament
Augmented fifth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In classical music from Western culture, an augmented
fifth ( Play ) is an interval produced by widening a
perfect fifth by a chromatic semitone.
[1][3]
For instance, the
interval from C to G is a perfect fifth, seven semitones
wide, and both the intervals from C to G, and from C to
G are augmented fifths, spanning eight semitones. Being
augmented, it is considered a dissonant interval.
[4]
Its inversion is the diminished fourth, and its enharmonic
equivalent is the minor sixth.
The augmented fifth only began to make an appearance at
the beginning of the common practice period of music as a
consequence of composers seeking to strengthen the
normally weak seventh degree when composing music in
minor modes.
This was achieved by chromatically raising the seventh
degree (or subtonic) to match that of the unstable seventh degree (or
leading tone) of the major mode (an increasingly widespread practice
that led to the creation of a modified version of the minor scale known
as the harmonic minor scale).
A consequence of this was that the interval between the minor mode's
already lowered third degree (mediant) and the newly raised seventh
degree (leading note), previously a perfect fifth, had now been
"augmented" by a semitone.
Another result of this practice was the appearance of the first augmented triads, built on the same (mediant)
degree, in place of the naturally occurring major chord.
As music became increasingly chromatic, the augmented fifth was used with correspondingly greater freedom
and also became a common component of jazz chords. Near the end of the nineteenth century the augmented
fifth became commonly used in a dominant chord. This would create an augmented dominant (or V) chord. The
augmented fifth of the chord would then act as a leading tone to the third of the next chord. This augmented V
chord would never precede a minor tonic (or i) chord since the augmented fifth of the dominant chord is
identical to the third of the tonic chord.
In an equal tempered tuning, an augmented fifth is equal to eight semitones, a ratio of 2
2/3
:1 (about 1.587:1), or
800 cents. The 25:16 just augmented fifth arises in the C harmonic minor scale between E and B.
[5]
Play
The augmented fifth is a context-dependent dissonance. That is, when heard in certain contexts, such as that
described above, the interval will sound dissonant. In other contexts, however, the same eight-semitone interval
will simply be heard (and notated) as its consonant enharmonic equivalent, the minor sixth.
Pythagorean augmented fifth
An augmented fifth in equal
temperament
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An augmented fifth in just intonation
An augmented fifth in just intonation
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Pythagorean augmented fifth is the ratio 6561:4096,
or about 815.64 cents.
[6]
See also
List of meantone intervals
Sources
1. ^
a

b
Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory
and Practice, Vol. I, p.54. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
2. ^ Haluska, Jan (2003). The Mathematical Theory of Tone Systems, p.xxviii. ISBN 0-8247-4714-3. Classic
augmented fifth.
3. ^ Hoffmann, F.A. (1881). Music: Its Theory & Practice, p.89-90. Thurgate & Sons. Digitized Aug 16, 2007.
4. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.92.
5. ^ Paul, Oscar (1885). A manual of harmony for use in music-schools and seminaries and f or self-instruction
(http://books.google.com/books?
id=4WEJAQAAMAAJ&dq=musical+interval+%22pythagorean+major+third%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s),
p.165. Theodore Baker, trans. G. Schirmer.
6. ^ Haluska (2003), p.xxiv. Pythagorean augmented fifth.
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Categories: Augmented intervals Fifths
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