Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

leading tone

American  
[lee-ding] / ˈli dɪŋ /

noun

Music.
  1. the seventh degree of a diatonic scale; subtonic.


Etymology

Origin of leading tone

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In the last measure but one, both the supertonic and leading tone should appear.

From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Lehmann, Friedrich Johann

This avoidance of the seventh or leading tone is seen throughout the symphony as well as in the traditional jubilee tunes.

From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Goepp, Philip H.

The color of blood is this plainly taken for the leading tone in the storm-clouds above the "Slave-ship."

From Modern Painters, Volume IV (of V) by Ruskin, John

Thus the color which was the leading tone of one room became the relieving tint of another.

From Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Balzac, Honoré de

Si, sē, n. the syllable used for the seventh tone of the scale, or the leading tone.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training