A tritone is an interval that consists of six semitones. It is a half step below a perfect fifth, making it an awkward interval. But did you know that back in the Middle Ages people thought it was actually demonic? Read on to learn!
In the Middle Ages, people considered the tritone to be the “Devil’s Interval” because of its surprising, dissonant, and frankly unpleasant sound. It was often not used in the church because of its unsettling interval. Music theorist Guido of Arezzo intentionally avoided using tritones in his music for the same reason.
In the Classical and Romantic Eras, tritones were used to convey suspense or the grimness of death. Beethoven and Wagner especially used the tritone to provoke supernatural or evil feelings.
More modern rock musicians used the tritone’s dark and heavy quality to build riffs and structure chords, while jazz musicians adopted the tritone as their own, utilizing it to build chordal cornerstones.
Today, tritones are a more natural part of our musical culture, being used in popular songs like the “Simpsons Theme” and “Maria” from West Side Story.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think about tritones in the comments! Come back soon for new content!
Post photo by The Ethan Hein Blog
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The Happy Musician 
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