Semitone / Half Step
also called “half step”also called “halfstep”also called “minor second”
The short version
The smallest normal step in Western music.
On a piano it's the very next key, black or white — C to C♯, or E to F. Two notes a semitone apart sound tense and rubbing against each other.
Why you'd careSemitones are how you measure everything else. A scale is just a recipe of half steps and whole steps.
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