The tritone - once the Devil's interval / myLot

Rockingham, Australia

April 9, 2023 2:30am CST

The photo has nothing to do with the text but is of part of the library at Furlough Park House in Ireland. I loved the ladder but this discussion is about music. The following might be a bit confusing if you don’t know much about the theory of music but I must not assume that as I’ve been caught before. Did you know that the use of the tritone in music was once prohibited as being ‘diabolus en musica’ or ‘the devil in music’? I found that pretty fascinating. The tritone was once regarded as the Devil’s interval, as dissonant and unstable, and its use was avoided and even, at one stage, banned. To explain, for practical purposes, the smallest distance (interval) you can have from one note to the next is a semitone. On a piano, it is from one note to the very next, black or white. A tone is two semitones but a tritone is three tones, not three semitones. Pretty dull information perhaps but I just thought every myLotter needed to know that.

9 people like this

9 responses

Anna

@LadyDuck (472060)

• Switzerland

9 Apr 23

I never heard if "diabolus in musica", but it is true that I know very little of music. It's not dull, it is interesting.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

There were so many rules about composition (in music) but now it seems anything goes.

1 person likes this

Anna

@LadyDuck (472060)

• Switzerland

9 Apr 23

@JudyEv I really missed learning more about music.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

@LadyDuck I sat for a great many exams at the time. I've only retained some of the knowledge but I'm glad I know some of it.

1 person likes this

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OceanTiara

@RebeccasFarm (90474)

• Arvada, Colorado

9 Apr 23

It wasn't dull at all Judy. I actually went to YouTube to listen to the tritones on pianos and guitars..sounds pretty groovy to me.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

That was a good idea. I never thought about providing a link so people could hear them.

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OceanTiara

@RebeccasFarm (90474)

• Arvada, Colorado

9 Apr 23

@JudyEv Well I was curious

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

@RebeccasFarm That's good. You could go down rabbit-holes all day when you're on myLot. Such a lot of interesting stuff comes up.

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BarBaraPrz

@BarBaraPrz (47677)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

9 Apr 23

I'd like a library with a fireplace and ladder, and I don't care if it came with tritones...

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

Good for you. I just love the ladder and so many books!!

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changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)

• China

9 Apr 23

I didn't know the tritone was once banned before now.The notes of stringed instruments are not as black-and-white as the keyboard instruments.

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

That's true but that was the easiest way to try to explain it.

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Ali Canary

@AliCanary (3247)

•

9 Apr 23

Seems very discordant, to me. Not of the devil so much as just yucky!

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

9 Apr 23

I guess it depends what goes around it.

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (181717)

• United States

23 Apr 23

I always am interested in things that used to be taboo. How we've changed over the years. I love the ladder too. Would love to have a library like that.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (342145)

• Rockingham, Australia

23 Apr 23

Music has changed incredibly over time. I'd love to have library shelves so high I needed a ladder to get to them.

1 person likes this

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (181717)

• United States

23 Apr 23

@JudyEv That would be very cool.