Major second
Appearance
The musical interval of a major second — also called a whole-tone — is the relationship between the first note (the root or tonic) and the second note in a major scale (and also a minor scale). It is the inversion of the minor seventh. It is abbreviated as M2.
A major second in just intonation can correspond to a pitch ratio of 8:9, 9:10, or various other ratios, while in an equal tempered tuning, a major second is equal to two semitones, a whole-tone, a ratio of 1:22/12 (approximately 1.122), or 200 cents, 3.910 cents smaller than 8:9. Two whole tones create a ditone, 8:92 or 64:81.
The major second is considered one of the more dissonant intervals of the diatonic scale.
See also
musical tuning, whole-tone scale, tonus.
Major second | ||||||
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# semitones | Interval class | # cents in equal temperament | Most common diatonic name | Comparable just interval | # cents in just interval | Just interval vs. equal-tempered interval |
2 | 2 | 200 | major second | 9:8 | 204 | 4 cents larger |