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whole step

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noun Music.
  1. an interval of two semitones, as A-B or B-C♯; a major second.
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Origin of whole step

First recorded in 1895–1900
Also called whole·tone.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for whole step

Historical Examples

  • The interval between the two tones may therefore be either a half-step or a whole-step.

    Music Notation and Terminology

    Karl W. Gehrkens

  • The expressions half-step and whole-step are much to be preferred to half-tone and whole-tone, as being more clear and definite.

  • If strictly logical terminology is to be insisted upon the whole-tone scale should be called the "whole-step" scale.