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A cent is a unit of measure for the ratio between two frequencies. An equally tempered semitone (the interval between two adjacent piano keys) spans 100 cents by definition. An octave —two notes that have a frequency ratio of 2:1—spans twelve semitones and therefore 1200 cents.
In twelve-tone equal temperament (12-TET), a tuning system in which all semitones have the same size, the size of one semitone is exactly 100 cents. Hence, in 12-TET the cent can be also defined as one hundredth of a semitone. Mathematically, the size in cents of the interval from frequency f 1 to frequency f 2 is
A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, [3] is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, [4] and it is considered the most dissonant [5] when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent notes in a 12-tone scale (or half of a whole step ), visually seen on a ...
Harmonic series, partials 1–5 numbered. In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and is called a just interval. Just intervals (and chords created by combining them) consist of tones from a ...
Chromatic scale. Chromatic scale: every key of one octave on the piano keyboard. The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the chromatic scale, while ...
Since one semitone equals 100 cents, one octave equals 12 ⋅ 100 cents = 1200 cents. Cents correspond to a difference in this logarithmic scale, however in the regular linear scale of frequency, adding 1 cent corresponds to multiplying a frequency by 1200 √ 2 (≅ 1.000 578).
The Pythagorean A ♭ (at the left) is at 792 cents, G ♯ (at the right) at 816 cents; the difference is the Pythagorean comma. Equal temperament by definition is such that A ♭ and G ♯ are at the same level. 1⁄4 -comma meantone produces the "just" major third (5:4, 386 cents, a syntonic comma lower than the Pythagorean one of 408 cents ...
In just intonation the quarter tone can be represented by the septimal quarter tone, 36:35 (48.77 cents), or by the undecimal quarter tone (i.e. the thirty-third harmonic), 33:32 (53.27 cents), approximately half the semitone of 16:15 or 25:24. The ratio of 36:35 is only 1.23 cents narrower than a 24-TET quarter tone.