Note Book – Exploring the Magic of Tritones Part One – Wading into the Shallow End

Definition a tritone is a musical interval with 3 whole tones or 6 semitones between the notes. Tritones are the only symmetrical intervals. For example C to F# above is a tri tone (Aug 4th ) and so is F# to C above it. F# to C below it is also a tri tone(dim 5th).

This is because Tri-tone intervals divide the chromatic scale exactly in half.

Including a tri-tone interval on their own or as part of a larger chord adds tension to a composition. Dominant 7th chords contain a tri-tone (3 to b7 ) and create a tension that wants to resolve back to the 1 chord (Tonic).

An example of this is a G7 chord resolving back to a C major chord.

To find a tritone interval simply draw a straight line between notes on the chromatic circle above. Try playing a few and adding them to other chords. Next week I am going to look into how tritones can be used in blues compositions.