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Whole tone

Musical Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Whole tone refers to a scale or interval built entirely of whole steps, creating an ambiguous, floating quality.

Detailed Definition
Poets reference whole tone for dreamlike, unresolved, or atmospheric passages lacking strong tonal pull, using equidistant sounds or neutral progressions. It suits modernist or impressionistic verse. From Debussy-era harmony, it evokes mystery. Its value lies in sonic ambiguity that mirrors uncertainty or otherworldliness. Whole tone expands poetic palette beyond diatonic comfort, inviting exploration of float and color over resolution and grounding language in innovative harmonic spaces.
Example
Example in poetry:
Whole tone creates ambiguous float: "whole tone the dream drifted, no resolution anchoring the shifting images."; Poets use equidistant sounds or neutral progressions for mystery or impressionism.; Educational: build a passage avoiding strong tonal pull for floating effect.; Whole tone expands palette beyond standard harmony.; It evokes otherworldliness or uncertainty in modernist verse.; Students contrast whole tone with diatonic resolution for harmonic awareness.
Additional Notes
Whole tone scale or interval uses only whole steps for ambiguous, floating, dreamlike quality without strong resolution. Tip: employ equidistant sounds for mystery or impressionism in modernist passages. Expands beyond diatonic comfort. Educational contrast with resolved scales. Whole tone invites exploration of color and uncertainty in innovative harmonic spaces.
Also Known As
Whole-tone scale
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