Editing Chromatic scale (section)

==Definition==
The chromatic scale is a [[musical scale]] with twelve [[Pitch (music)|pitch]]es, each a [[semitone]], also known as a half-step, above or below its adjacent pitches. As a result, in [[12 tone equal temperament|12-tone equal temperament]] (the most common tuning in Western music), the chromatic scale covers all 12 of the available pitches. Thus, there is only one chromatic scale.{{efn|As every chromatic scale is [[transpositional equivalency|identical under transposition]], [[inversional equivalency|inversion]], and [[retrograde equivalency|retrograde]] to every other.}} The ratio of the [[frequency]] of one note in the scale to that of the preceding note is given by <math>\sqrt[12]{2} \approxeq 1.06</math>.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jeans |first=James |author-link=James Jeans |date=1923 |title=Science and Music |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.459051/page/n33/mode/1up |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=24–25 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

In equal temperament, all the semitones have the same [[Interval (music)#Size|size]] (100 [[cent (music)|cents]]), and there are twelve semitones in an [[octave]] (1200 cents). As a result, the notes of an equal-tempered chromatic scale are equally-spaced.

{{Quote|The ''chromatic scale''...is a series of half steps which comprises all the pitches of our [12-tone] equal-tempered system.|[[Allen Forte]] (1979)<ref name="Forte">[[Allen Forte|Forte, Allen]], ''Tonal Harmony'', third edition (S.l.: Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson, 1979): pp. 4–5. {{ISBN|0-03-020756-8}}.</ref>}}

{{Quote|All of the pitches in common use, considered together, constitute the ''chromatic scale''. It is made up entirely of successive half steps, the smallest interval in Western music....Counting by half steps, an octave includes twelve different pitches, white and black keys together. The chromatic scale, then, is a collection of all the available pitches in order upward or downward, one octave's worth after another.|[[Walter Piston]] (1987)<ref>[[Walter Piston|Piston, Walter]] (1987/1941). ''Harmony'', p. 5. 5th ed. revised by DeVoto, Mark. W. W. Norton, New York/London. {{ISBN|0-393-95480-3}}.</ref>}}

{{Quote|A ''chromatic scale'' is a [[diatonic scale|nondiatonic scale]] consisting entirely of half-step intervals. Since each tone of the scale is equidistant from the next {{bracket|[[symmetric scale|symmetry]]}} it has no [[tonic (music)|tonic]] {{bracket|[[key (music)|key]]}}.<ref name="B&S">{{cite book|last1=Benward|first1=Bruce|last2=Saker|first2=Marilyn Nadine|year=2003|title=Music in Theory and Practice|volume=I|page=37|publisher=McGraw-Hill |edition=7th|isbn=978-0-07-294262-0}}</ref> ...<br/>
[[Chromaticism]] [is t]he<!--in the source Chromaticism is in bold, followed by a space and the "t" in "the" is capitalized ("The")--> introduction of some pitches of the chromatic scale into music that is basically diatonic in orientation, or music that is based on the chromatic scale instead of the diatonic scales.<ref>Benward & Saker (2003). "Glossary", p. 359.</ref>|Benward & Saker (2003)}}

The ascending and descending chromatic scale is shown below.<ref name="B&S"/>

:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble \time 12/4
  c4^\markup { Ascending } cis d dis e f fis g gis a ais b
  c^\markup { Descending } b bes a aes g ges f e es d des c
  }
}
</score>
[[File:Pitch class space.svg|thumb|Chromatic scale drawn as a [[chromatic circle|circle]]]]
[[File:Chromatic notes diagram.png|thumb|300px|The diatonic scale notes (above) and the non-scale chromatic notes (below)<ref name="Forte"/>]]

{{Quote|The twelve notes of the octave—''all'' the black and white keys in one octave on the piano—form the ''chromatic scale''. The tones of the chromatic scale (unlike those of the major or minor scale) are all the same distance apart, one half step.
The word ''chromatic'' comes from the Greek ''chroma'', ''color''; and the traditional function of the chromatic scale is to color or embellish the tones of the major and minor scales. It does not define a key, but it gives a sense of motion and tension. It has long been used to evoke grief, loss, or sorrow. In the twentieth century it has also become independent of major and minor scales and is used as the basis for entire compositions.|[[Roger Kamien]] (1976)<ref>[[Roger Kamien|Kamien, Roger]] (1990). ''Music: An Appreciation'', p. 44. Brief edition. McGraw-Hill. {{ISBN|0-07-033568-0}}.</ref>}}