microtonaladj.
/mʌɪkrə(ʊ)ˈtəʊnl/, U.S. /ˌmaɪkroʊˈtoʊn(ə)l/, /ˌmaɪkrəˈtoʊn(ə)l/ Music.
Of or relating to a microtone or microtones; employing or producing microtones.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > interval > [adjective] > microtonal
enharmonical1728
enharmonica1794
microtonal1942
1942 Scrutiny 11 6 The quarter-tone or scruti is the microtonal interval between notes of the ‘scale’.
1967 Times 29 May 6/4 Glissandos on the microtonal harp were pure magic.
1984 Listener 19 Apr. 30/2 The latter incorporated a dazzling array of flutter-tonguing, over-blowing, micro-tonal writing and glissandi.
1994 Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 23 31 Especially important are determinate relationships between speech intonation and musical melody, for example, in..Native American microtonal pitch rising.
Derivatives
microˈtonally adv.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > interval > [adverb] > microtonal
enharmonically1879
microtonally1946
1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) v. 106 The microtonally flatted fifth also occurs.
1983 New Oxf. Compan. Music i. 617/1 The keys are capable of a secondary or lateral movement, microtonally influencing the pitch.
1992 New Scientist 25 Apr. 15/3 It [sc. a software package] gives the facility for writing the score microtonally, with quarter and three-quarter tones.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1942