quarter tone

American  

noun

Music.

1. an interval equivalent to half of a semitone.

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quarter tone British  

noun

1. music a quarter of a whole tone; a pitch interval corresponding to 50 cents measured on the well-tempered scale

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Etymology

Origin of quarter tone

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

The score is punctuated by a kind of signal: two pianos, tuned a quarter tone apart, arpeggiating upward into silence.

From The New Yorker

It is a granitic 36-minute score that begins with a little fanfare from two pianos placed on either side of the orchestra and tuned a quarter tone apart.

From Los Angeles Times

In these, he advocated for quarter tones and dreamed up a double concerto for two soloists playing in different keys — a century before Ives.

From New York Times

But then teachers introduced her to Indian ragas, Gamelan music and compositions with quarter tones, unfamiliar modes and atonal structures.

From New York Times

Right from the beginning, he gave me a trumpet that had this fourth valve, for the quarter tones.

From New York Times