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The devil's thread...


Tedster

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I will turn the topic of this thread to being the Devil's Interval: the tri-tone. For the uninitiated, the tritone is an augmented 4th or a flatted 5th, such as an E to an A#. It's a staple of metal, popularized in recent decades by Sabbath.

 

Tritone.png

 

Intersting, isn't it, how two notes played consecutively could be branded as evil, while another two notes are not? they're just notes. How can they be good or bad, or anything other than indifferent?

 

The history of this goes back to the monks who did Gregorian chant, calling this interval the tonus diabolicus. With Western music imprinted in our collective consciousness, the tritone is considered the most dissonant combination of notes, with the diminished 2nd (i.e., E to F) being a distant second place.

 

What is so scary about the tritone? Some people think that since the monks sangs so many 4ths and 5ths in intervals, that the chromatic note between was always a mistake, and its inherent dissonance would literally summon Satan from the depths of Hell.

 

Anyway, it's odd. Play yourself a tritone today. BTW, it's actually very useful as a part of any dominant (V) chord resolving to I, but that's another story for another day.

 

- Jeff

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I notice that interval in a lot of locomotive air horns.

 

Yes, the tritone is used in a lot of horns, specifically automobile horns and emergency horns. Its dissonant nature is selected because it grabs attention immediately- something that's desireable when a 5K pound Expedition is bearing down on your VW Rabbit...

 

And since we haven't summoned Satan from the depths of damnation with every traffic jam, that is further proof (in my book) that organized religion is a total crock of fermented dog feces.

 

YMMV.

 

Cheers. I'm drinking Sam Adams Oktoberfest and it is good. Oh, and music theory is teh rul3...., and Jeff The Weasel is considered hawt by most chix0rz i know...

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Originally posted by phaeton

And since we haven't summoned Satan from the depths of damnation with every traffic jam, that is further proof (in my book) that organized religion is a total crock of fermented dog feces.

 

Hey, watch it bub...maybe you haven't summoned Satan lately, but, I'm convinced that every traffic jam is proof positive of his existence.

 

;)

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Originally posted by Jeff da Weasel


What is so scary about the tritone?

 

 

As it chromatically "halves" the octave so you get maximal "distance from tonal center"

 

Since it is symmetric -- how one resolves it can be ambiguous (Deutch at UCSD preformed research a couple of decades ago where folks would percieve to direction/resolution of a tritone 'paradox' differently -- and there appears to be evidence that this may have to do with "cultural vocal key"...sewing the seeds of dissent and division ..."Diabolicus in Musica" indeed)

 

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Originally posted by Tedster



Hey, watch it bub...maybe
you
haven't summoned Satan lately, but, I'm convinced that every traffic jam is proof positive of his existence.


;)

 

I have to agree here and Satan drives a BM'f'in'W!!!!!!!!

 

m/ :mad: m/

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One bright, beautiful Sunday morning, everyone in a tiny town got up early and went to the local church. Before the service started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, etc.

 

Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from the evil incarnate. Soon everyone was evacuated from the church except for one elderly man who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence.

 

This confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Hey! Don't you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "I've been married to your sister for 50 years."

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