Perfect fifth - Wikipedia

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth

Perfect fifth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval

corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2,
or very nearly so.
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval
from the first to the last of five consecutive notes in a diatonic
scale.[1] The perfect fifth (often abbreviated P5) spans seven
semitones, while the diminished fifth spans six and the
augmented fifth spans eight semitones. For
example, the interval from C to G is a perfect
fifth, as the note G lies seven semitones above
Inverse
C. Play
The perfect fifth may be derived from the
harmonic series as the interval between the
second and third harmonics. In a diatonic scale,
the dominant note is a perfect fifth above the
tonic note.
The perfect fifth is more consonant, or stable,
than any other interval except the unison and the
octave. It occurs above the root of all major and
minor chords (triads) and their extensions. Until
the late 19th century, it was often referred to by
one of its Greek names, diapente.[2] Its inversion
is the perfect fourth. The octave of the fifth is the
twelfth.

Perfect fifth Play equal

tempered and Play just.

perfect fifth
perfect fourth
Name

Other names

diapente

Abbreviation

P5
Size

Semitones

Interval class

Just interval

3:2
Cents

Equal temperament

700

24 equal temperament

700

Just intonation

702

A helpful way to recognize a perfect fifth is to hum the start of "Twinkle,

Twinkle, Little Star"; the pitch of the first "twinkle" is the root note and
pitch of the second "twinkle" is a perfect fifth above it.

Contents
1
2
3
4

Alternative definitions
Other qualities of fifth
Pitch ratio
Use in harmony

Examples of perfect
fifth intervals

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Bare fifth, open fifth, or empty fifth

Use in tuning and tonal systems
See also
References

Alternative definitions
The term perfect identifies the perfect fifth as belonging to the group of perfect intervals (including
the unison, perfect fourth and octave), so called because of their simple pitch relationships and their
high degree of consonance.[3] When an instrument with only twelve notes to an octave (such as the
piano) is tuned using Pythagorean tuning, one of the twelve fifths (the wolf fifth) sounds severely
discordant and can hardly be qualified as "perfect", if this term is interpreted as "highly consonant".
However, when using correct enharmonic spelling, the wolf fifth in Pythagorean tuning or
meantone temperament is actually not a perfect fifth but a diminished sixth (for instance GE).
Perfect intervals are also defined as those natural intervals whose inversions are also perfect, where
natural, as opposed to altered, designates those intervals between a base note and another note in
the major diatonic scale starting at that base note (for example, the intervals from C to C, D, E, F,
G, A, B, C, with no sharps or flats); this definition leads to the perfect intervals being only the
unison, fourth, fifth, and octave, without appealing to degrees of consonance.[4]
The term perfect has also been used as a synonym of just, to distinguish intervals tuned to ratios of
small integers from those that are "tempered" or "imperfect" in various other tuning systems, such
as equal temperament.[5][6] The perfect unison has a pitch ratio 1:1, the perfect octave 2:1, the
perfect fourth 4:3, and the perfect fifth 3:2.
Within this definition, other intervals may also be called perfect, for example a perfect third (5:4)[7]
or a perfect major sixth (5:3).[8]

Other qualities of fifth

In addition to perfect, there are two other kinds, or qualities, of fifths: the diminished fifth, which is
one chromatic semitone smaller, and the augmented fifth, which is one chromatic semitone larger.
In terms of semitones, these are equivalent to the tritone (or augmented fourth), and the minor
sixth, respectively.

Pitch ratio
The justly tuned pitch ratio of a perfect fifth is 3:2 (also known, in early music theory, as a
hemiola),[10][11][12] meaning that the upper note makes three vibrations in the same amount of time
that the lower note makes two. The just perfect fifth can be heard when a violin is tuned: if adjacent

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strings are adjusted to the exact ratio of 3:2, the result is a

smooth and consonant sound, and the violin sounds in tune.
Keyboard instruments such as the piano normally use an equaltempered version of the perfect fifth, enabling the instrument to
play in all keys. In 12-tone equal temperament, the frequencies
of the tempered perfect fifth are in the ratio
or
approximately 1.498307. An equally tempered perfect fifth,
defined as 700 cents, is about two cents narrower than a just
perfect fifth, which is approximately 701.955 cents.
Kepler explored musical tuning in terms of integer ratios, and
defined a "lower imperfect fifth" as a 40:27 pitch ratio, and a
"greater imperfect fifth" as a 243:160 pitch ratio.[13] His lower
perfect fifth ratio of 1.4815 (680 cents) is much more
"imperfect" than the equal temperament tuning (700 cents) of
1.498 (relative to the ideal 1.50). Helmholtz uses the ratio
301:200 (708 cents) as an example of an imperfect fifth; he
contrasts the ratio of a fifth in equal temperament (700 cents)
with a "perfect fifth" (3:2), and discusses the audibility of the
beats that result from such an "imperfect" tuning.[14]

Use in harmony

Just perfect fifth on D Play .

The perfect fifth above D (A+,
27/16) is a syntonic comma
(81/80 or 21.5 cents) higher than
the just major sixth above middle
C: (A, 5/3).[9]

Just perfect fifth below A

Play . The perfect fifth below
A (D-, 10/9) is a syntonic comma
lower than the just/Pythagorean
major second above middle C:
(D, 9/8).[9]

W. E. Heathcote describes the octave as representing the prime

unity within the triad, a higher unity produced from the
successive process: "first Octave, then Fifth, then Third, which is the union of the two former."[15]
Hermann von Helmholtz argues that some intervals, namely the perfect fourth, fifth, and octave,
"are found in all the musical scales known", though the editor of the English translation of his book
notes the fourth and fifth may be interchangeable or indeterminate.[16]
The perfect fifth is a basic element in the construction of major and minor triads, and their
extensions. Because these chords occur frequently in much music, the perfect fifth occurs just as
often. However, since many instruments contain a perfect fifth as an overtone, it is not unusual to
omit the fifth of a chord (especially in root position).
The perfect fifth is also present in seventh chords as well as "tall tertian" harmonies (harmonies
consisting of more than four tones stacked in thirds above the root). The presence of a perfect fifth
can in fact soften the dissonant intervals of these chords, as in the major seventh chord in which the
dissonance of a major seventh is softened by the presence of two perfect fifths.
One can also build chords by stacking fifths, yielding quintal harmonies. Such harmonies are
present in more modern music, such as the music of Paul Hindemith. This harmony also appears in
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in the Dance of the Adolescents where four C Trumpets, a Piccolo

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Trumpet, and one horn play a five-tone B-flat quintal chord.[17]

Bare fifth, open fifth, or empty fifth

A bare fifth, open fifth or empty fifth is a chord containing only a perfect fifth with no third. The
closing chord of the Kyrie in Mozart's Requiem and of the first movement of Bruckner's Ninth
Symphony are both examples of pieces ending on an empty fifth. These "chords" are common in
Sacred Harp singing and throughout rock music. In hard rock, metal, and punk music, overdriven
or distorted electric guitar can make thirds sound muddy while the bare fifth remains crisp. In
addition, fast chord-based passages are made easier to play by combining the four most common
guitar hand shapes into one. Rock musicians refer to them as power chords. Power chords often
include octave doubling (i.e., their bass note is doubled one octave higher, e.g. F3-C4-F4).
An empty fifth is sometimes used in traditional
music, e.g., in Asian music and in some Andean
music genres of pre-Columbian origin, such as k'antu
and sikuri. The same melody is being led by parallel
fifths and octaves during all the piece. Hear
examples: Play K'antu , Play Pacha Siku .

E5 power chord in eighth notes

play

Western composers may use the interval to give a passage an exotic flavor.[18] Empty fifths are also
sometimes used to give a cadence an ambiguous quality, as the bare fifth does not indicate a major
or minor tonality.

Use in tuning and tonal systems

The just perfect fifth, together with the octave, forms the basis of Pythagorean tuning. A flattened
perfect fifth is likewise the basis for meantone tuning.
The circle of fifths is a model of pitch space for the chromatic scale (chromatic circle), which
considers nearness as the number of perfect fifths required to get from one note to another, rather
than chromatic adjacency.

See also
All fifths
Circle of fifths

References
1. Don Michael Randel (2003), "Interval", Harvard Dictionary of Music, fourth edition (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press): p. 413.

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2. William Smith and Samuel Cheetham (1875). A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities. London: John
Murray. p. 550.
3. Walter Piston and Mark DeVoto (1987), Harmony, 5th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton), p. 15. ISBN
0-393-95480-3. Octaves, perfect intervals, thirds, and sixths are classified as being "consonant
intervals", but thirds and sixths are qualified as "imperfect consonances".
4. Kenneth McPherson Bradley (1908). Harmony and Analysis. C. F. Summy Co. p. 17.
5. Charles Knight (1843). Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Society
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. p. 356.
6. John Stillwell (2006). Yearning for the Impossible. A K Peters, Ltd. p. 21. ISBN 1-56881-254-X.
7. Llewelyn Southworth Lloyd (1970). Music and Sound. Ayer Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 0-8369-5188-3.
8. John Broadhouse (1892). Musical Acoustics. W. Reeves. p. 277.
9. Fonville, John. "Ben Johnston's Extended Just Intonation- A Guide for Interpreters", p.109, Perspectives
of New Music, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), pp. 106-137.
10. Willi Apel (1969). Harvard Dictionary of Music (second ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 382.
ISBN 978-0-674-37501-7.
11. Don Michael Randel (ed.) (1986), New Harvard Dictionary of Music, [third edition] (Cambridge, MA:
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986), p. 376.
12. Don Michael Randel (ed.) (2003), "Hemiola", Harvard Dictionary of Music, fourth edition (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press): p. 389.
13. Johannes Kepler (2004). Stephen W. Hawking, ed. Harmonies of the World. Running Press. p. 22.
ISBN 0-7624-2018-9.
14. Hermann von Helmholtz (1912). On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of
Music. Longmans, Green. pp. 199, 313.
15. W. E. Heathcote (1888), "Introductory Essay"", in Moritz Hauptmann, The Nature of Harmony and
Metre (https://books.google.com/books?id=a8o5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PR20&
dq=%22first+octave%22+%22then+fifth%22&hl=en&ei=1d4qTbyMBsGnnQf81bXmAQ&
sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&
q=%22first%20octave%22%20%22then%20fifth%22&f=false), translated and edited by W. E.
Heathcote (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co.), p.xx.
16. Hermann von Helmholtz (1912). On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of
Music. p. 253.
17. Piston and DeVoto (1987), pp. 503505.
18. Scott Miller, "Inside The King and I (http://www.newlinetheatre.com/kingandichapter.html)", New Line
Theatre, accessed December 28, 2012

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Categories: Fifths (music) Perfect intervals 3-limit tuning and intervals
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