Augmented unison - Wikipedia

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

Augmented unison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In modern Western tonal music theory an

augmented unison or augmented prime[3] is
the interval between two notes on the same staff
position, or denoted by the same note letter,
whose alterations cause them, in ordinary equal
temperament, to be one semitone apart. In other
words, it is a unison where one note has been
altered by a half-step, such as B and B or C
and C. The interval is often described as a
chromatic semitone.[4] The term, in its French
form unisson superflu, appears to have been
coined by Jean-Philippe Rameau in 1722, who
also called this interval a minor semitone
(semiton mineur).[5] Historically, this interval,
like the tritone, is described as being "mi contra
fa", and therefore is the "diabolus in musica" (the
Devil in music).[6] In 12-tone equal
temperament, it is the enharmonic equivalent of
a diatonic semitone or minor second,[1] although
in other tunings the diatonic semitone is a wider
interval.

Augmented unison
Inverse

Diminished octave
Name

Other names

Chromatic semitone, minor

semitone

Abbreviation

A1
Size

Semitones

Interval class

Just interval

16:15
Cents

Equal temperament 100

24 equal

100

temperament
Just intonation

112

Diminished unison
The term diminished unison or diminished
Augmented unison on C.[1][2] Play
prime is also found occasionally. It is found once
in Rameau's writings, for example,[5] as well as
subsequent French, German, and English sources.[7] Other sources reject the possibility or utility of
the diminished unison on the grounds that any alteration to the unison increases its size, thus
augmenting rather than diminishing it.[8] The term is sometimes justified as a negative-numbered
interval,[9][10] and also in terms of violin double-stopping technique on analogy to parallel intervals
found on other strings.[11] Some theoreticians make a distinction for this diminished form of the
unison, stating it is only valid as a melodic interval, not a harmonic one.[12]

See also
False relation

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List of musical intervals

List of pitch intervals

References
1. Porter, Steven (1986). Music, A Comprehensive Introduction, p.66. ISBN 978-0-935016-81-9.
2. Burrows, Terry (1999). How To Read Music, p.62. ISBN 978-0-312-24159-9.
3. Blood, Brian (12 September 2014). "Intervals". Music theory online. Dolmetsch Musical Instruments.
Retrieved 30 August 2015.
4. Rushton, Julian. "Unison (prime)". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved August 2011.
Check date values in: |access-date= (help) (subscription needed)
5. Gene Henry Anderson, "Musical Terminology in J.-P. Rameaus Trait de lharmonie: A Study and
Glossary Based on an Index". PhD diss. (Iowa City: University of Iowa, 1981): 196.
6. Andreas Werckmeister, Harmonologia musica, oder kurze Anleitung zur musicalischen Composition
(http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10527826_00005.html) (Frankfurt and
Leipzig: Theodor Philipp Calvisius, 1702): 6, and Musicalische Paradoxal-Discourse, oder allgemeine
Vorstellungen (http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb10527832_00005.html)
(Quedlinburg: Theodor Philipp Calvisius, 1707): 7576.
7.
Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Methods of Harmony, Figured Base, and Composition: Adapted
for Self-Instruction, Volume 1, edited by Ignaz Syfried (Ritter von), and Alexandre Choron
(London: R. Cocks & Co., 1834): 4 [Translated from Mthodes d'harmonie et de composition:
l'aide desquelles on peut apprendre soi-mme accompagner la basse chiffre et composer toute
espce de musique, par J.-Georges Albrechtsberger. Nouvelle d., mise en ordre et
considrablement augmente d'aprs l'enseignement de l'auteur, et formant la collection complte
de ses OEuvres de thorie musicale, par le chevalier de Seyfried, son lve. Traduite de
l'allemand, avec des notes, par M. Choron. Paris: Bachelier, 1830.]
Henry Charles Banister, A Text-book of Music (London: George Bell and Sons, 1872): 34.
Alexandre Choron, Principes de Composition des Ecoles d'Italie: Adopts par le Gouvernement
Franais pour servir l'instruction des Elves des Matrises de Cathdrales: ouvrage classique
form de la runion des modles les plus parfaits en tout genre, enrichi dun texte mthodique
rdig selon lenseignement des Ecoles les plus clbres et des Ecrivains didactiques les plus
estims, Tome premier, Contenant la prface & les Trois premiers Livres (Paris, 1808): 2
Castil-Blaze [Franois Henri Joseph Blaze], Dictionnaire de musique moderne (Brussels:
LAcademie de musique, 1828): 269.
Anton Grffer, Systematische Guitarre-Schule, Erster Theil (https://books.google.com
/books?id=9jtcAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&
cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) (Vienna: Anton Strau, 1811): 38.
Oskar Kolbe, Kurzgefasste Generalbasslehre, second, enlarged and corrected edition (Leipzig:
Breitkopf und Hrtel, 1872): 12.
Alexander Lehr, Campanology Textbook: The Musical and Technical Aspect of Swinging Bells
and Carillons, constituting Bulletin of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America Volume 54
(2005): 51. Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.
Horst Leuchtmann, Dictionary of Terms in Music / Wrterbuch Musik: EnglishGerman,
GermanEnglish, fourth, revised and enlarged edition (Munich, London, New York, and Paris: K.
G. Saur; Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, 1992): 324. ISBN 978-3-598-10913-3 (cloth); ISBN
978-3-11-190694-2 (print/ebook); ISBN 978-3-11-150573-2 (ebook).

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8.

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

Frederic Allison Lyman, The Normal Music Course in the Schoolroom: Being a Practical
Exposition of the Normal Music Course, Together with Its Complemental Series, The Cecilian
Series of Study and Song, by John W. Tufts, Designed to Aid Those who Teach Vocal Music
(Boston, New York, Chicago: Silver, Burdett, and Company, 1896): 4748.
Robert Middleton, Harmony in Modern Counterpoint (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1967): 20.
Cesar-Auguste Monti-Punti, Les secrets de la musique ou thorie musicale, edited by Pierre
Rigaud (Paris: Leduc, 1846): 63, 72, 77.
Robert Nelson and Carl J. Christensen, Foundations of Music, seventh edition (Boston: Schirmer
Cengage Learning, 2008): 169. ISBN 978-0-495-56593-2.
Gustav Schilling, Musikalische Didaktik; oder, Die Kunst des Unterrichts in der Musik: Ein
nothwendiges Hand- und Hlfsbuch fr alle lehrer und lernende der Musik, Erzieher,
Schulvorsteher, Organisten, Volkschullehrer &c. (https://books.google.com
/books?id=4NsPAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&
cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) (Eisleben: Ferdinand Kuhnt. 1851): 315.
Daniel Gottlob Trk, Anweisung zum Generalbaspielen, second edition (Halle: Hemmerde und
Schwetschte; Leipzig: Schwickert, 1800): 16.
White, William Alfred (1907). Harmony and ear-training. New York, Boston [etc.]: Silver,
Burdett & Company.
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Anfangsgrnde der theoretischen Musik (Leipzig: Johann Gottlieb
Immanuel Breitkopf, 1757): 34.
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Handbuch bey dem Generalbasse und der Composition: mit zwodrey- vier- fnf- sechs- sieben- acht und mehreren Stimmen fr Anfnger und Gebtere, second,
expanded and corrected edition (Berlin: Gottlieb August Lange. 1762): 14.
Kostka and Payne (2003). Tonal Harmony, p.21. ISBN 0-07-285260-7. "There is no such thing as
a diminished unison."
Day and Pilhofer (2007). Music Theory for Dummies, p.113. ISBN 0-7645-7838-3. "There is no
such thing as a diminished unison, because no matter how you change the unisons with
accidentals, you are adding half steps to the total interval."
Surmani, Andrew; Karen Farnum Surmani, Morton Manus (2009) Alfred's Essentials of Music
Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for All Musicians. [s.l.]: Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN
0-7390-3635-1, p. 135 "Since lowering either note of a perfect unison would actually increase its
size, the perfect unison cannot be diminished, only augmented."
(1908). The Journal of School Music, p.263. "What he [Prof. White in Harmony and Ear
Training] calls the 'diminished prime or unison' cannot possibly occur. It is simply an augmented
unison. Because unison is 'the relation of two tones at the same pitch,' and when one of these is
chromatically distanced, it creates the contradiction in terms known as 'augmented' unison; but the
other term, 'diminished unison' is impossible on the face of it, because the 'same pitch' cannot be
made less."
Gardner, Carl Edward (1912). Essentials of Music Theory, p.38. C. Fischer. ISBN
978-1-4400-6780-8. "The prime is also called an unison, but in speaking of intervals, it should
always be called a prime. Correctly speaking, a perfect prime is not an interval, but in the theory
of music it is so called. There is good reason for making this error, but none for called a
diminished prime a diminished unison."
Smith, Uselma Clarke (1916). Keyboard Harmony, p.15. The Boston Music Company. "Note that
the diminished unison and octave are not commonly used."
Aikin, Jim (2004). A Player's Guide to Chords & Harmony, p.32. ISBN 978-0-87930-798-1. "In
case you were wondering, there's no such thing as a diminished unison."
Arthur Foote, Walter Raymond Spalding (1905). Modern Harmony in its Theory and Practice,

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Augmented unison - Wikipedia

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

p.5. Arthur P. Schmidt. "a diminished unison is unthinkable, and the diminished 2d and 9th are of
no practical use:..."
9. Eytan Agmon, The Languages of Western Tonality, Computational Music Science (Berlin, Heidelberg,
New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer-Verlag, 2013): 64, 151. ISBN 978-3-642-39586-4 (cloth);
ISBN 978-3-642-39587-1 (ebook)
10. Steven Porter, Music: A Comprehensive Introduction: Workbook No. 1: Music Theory (New York:
Excelsior Music Publishing, 1986): 8. ISBN 0-935016-83-X.
11. Karl Courvoisier, Die Violin-Technik (Cologne: Pet. Jos. Tonger, 1878): 26. English edition, as The
Technics of Violin Playing, the Strad Library 1 (London: The Strad; New York: Charles Scribners Sons,
1908): 49.
12.
Nicolas Etienne Framery, Pierre Louis Ginguen, and Jrme-Joseph Momigny. Encyclopdie
mthodique: musique (https://books.google.com/books?id=CAO4TM83gXgC&pg=PA19&
lpg=PA19&dq=%22unisson+diminu%22&source=bl&ots=uPk1-ZKCTA&
sig=-Hx6eXh1lmwLPfeC7RpsBR80xwk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=bMhbVKHmJYfgoASSkYLwBg&
ved=0CBQQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=%22unisson%20diminu%22&f=false), 2 vols. (Paris:
Mme. Veuve Agasse,1818): 2:19.
Carl Edward Gardner, Essentials of Music Theory: Elementary (New York: Carl Fischer, Inc.
1912): 34.
Johann Adam Hiller (ed.).. "Fortsetzung zu dem musikalischen Wrterbuche", Wchentliche
Nachrichten und Anmerkungen, die Musik betreffend 3, no. 41 (10 April 1769): 31522.
citation on 318.
E. Friedrich Richter, Trait de lharmonie: thorique et pratique (https://books.google.com
/books?id=3Kug-l34ZVsC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=%22unisson+diminu%22&source=bl&
ots=mQaEfcPAGJ&sig=7GcQGKvezyJwvzgX9B03StGGKpA&hl=en&
sa=X&ei=Pb5bVOyMEI21ogTg64LwDA&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&
q=%22unisson%20diminu%22&f=false), translated from the German by Gustave Sandr
(Leipzig and Brussels: Breitkopf & Hrtel, diteurs, 1891): 3.

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