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Reference.org
Quarter tone
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<p>A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a <a href="/facts/Chromatic_scale/ntfCjHK4">chromatic scale</a> or an <a href="/facts/Interval_(music)/aFwkkgpY">interval</a> about half as wide (orally, or logarithmically) as a <a href="/facts/Semitone/lVBsLYSA">semitone</a>, which itself is half a <a href="/facts/Major_second/x94d53Fo">whole tone</a>. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 <a href="/facts/Cent_(music)/lsm8TJgX">cents</a> each, and have 24 different pitches. </p> <p>Quarter tones have their roots in the music of the Middle East and more specifically in <a href="/facts/Persian_traditional_music/peAKJIG6">Persian traditional music</a>. However, the first evidenced proposal of the <a href="/facts/Equal_temperament/8AwSblW3">equally-tempered</a> quarter tone scale, or 24 equal temperament, was made by 19th-century music theorists Heinrich Richter in 1823 and <a href="/facts/Mikhail_Mishaqa/N8CMUJey">Mikhail Mishaqa</a> about 1840. Composers who have written music using this scale include: <a href="/facts/Pierre_Boulez/YXt2XhIc">Pierre Boulez</a>, <a href="/facts/Juli%25C3%25A1n_Carrillo/9b17bqXf">Julián Carrillo</a>, <a href="/facts/Mildred_Couper/2q14GTEp">Mildred Couper</a>, <a href="/facts/George_Enescu/D4pRb33X">George Enescu</a>, <a href="/facts/Alberto_Ginastera/tArNttd4">Alberto Ginastera</a>, <a href="/facts/G%25C3%25A9rard_Grisey/yARhnsww">Gérard Grisey</a>, <a href="/facts/Alois_H%25C3%25A1ba/dwqIrrqL">Alois Hába</a>, <a href="/facts/Ljubica_Mari%25C4%2587/H851dw98">Ljubica Marić</a>, <a href="/facts/Charles_Ives/x9uul17S">Charles Ives</a>, <a href="/facts/Tristan_Murail/0ucqG9Ul">Tristan Murail</a>, <a href="/facts/Krzysztof_Penderecki/B6nezpUl">Krzysztof Penderecki</a>, <a href="/facts/Giacinto_Scelsi/vyrhkL05">Giacinto Scelsi</a>, <a href="/facts/Ammar_El_Sherei/Rm5tw3py">Ammar El Sherei</a>, <a href="/facts/Karlheinz_Stockhausen/XCrTaejh">Karlheinz Stockhausen</a>, <a href="/facts/Tui_St._George_Tucker/v9D9VYln">Tui St. George Tucker</a>, <a href="/facts/Ivan_Wyschnegradsky/68C50wMu">Ivan Wyschnegradsky</a>, <a href="/facts/Iannis_Xenakis/bHTIw88C">Iannis Xenakis</a>, and <a href="/facts/Seppe_Gebruers/2fJegNq8">Seppe Gebruers</a> (See <a href="/facts/List_of_quarter_tone_pieces/PouqtntP">List of quarter tone pieces</a>.) </p>