Editing Tritone (section)

== Augmented fourth and diminished fifth ==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
[[File:Chromatic scale full octave ascending and descending on C.svg|thumb|right|400px|Chromatic scale on C: full octave ascending and descending[[File:ChromaticScaleUpDown.ogg|thumb|center|Play in equal temperament]]]]
[[File:Chromatic scale tritones.png|thumb|right|400px|Full ascending and descending chromatic scale on C, with tritone above each pitch. Pairs of tritones that are [[Inversion (music)#Intervals|inversions]] of each other are marked below.]]
[[File:Enharmonic tritone.png|thumb|Augmented fourth between C and F{{music|sharp}} and the diminished fifth between C and G{{music|b}} are [[enharmonic|enharmonically equivalent]] intervals. Both are 600 [[Cent (music)|cent]]s wide in [[Equal temperament#Twelve-tone equal temperament|12-TET]].[[File:Tritone on C.mid]]]]

Since a [[chromatic scale]] is formed by 12 pitches (each a semitone apart from its neighbors), it contains 12 distinct tritones, each starting from a different pitch and spanning six semitones. According to a complex but widely used [[interval (music)#Interval number and quality|naming convention]], six of them are classified as ''augmented fourths'', and the other six as ''diminished fifths''.

Under that convention, a ''fourth'' is an interval encompassing four [[staff position]]s, while a ''fifth'' encompasses five staff positions (see [[Interval (music)#Number|interval number]] for more details).
The augmented fourth (''A4'') and diminished fifth (''d5'') are defined as the intervals produced by [[augmentation (music)|widening]] the [[perfect fourth]] and [[Diminution|narrowing]] the [[perfect fifth]] by one [[chromatic semitone]].<ref>Bruce Benward & Marilyn Nadine Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', seventh edition (Boston: McGraw-Hill), p.&nbsp;54. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}.</ref>
They both span six semitones, and they are the [[Inversion (music)#Intervals|inverse]] of each other, meaning that their sum is exactly equal to one [[perfect octave]] (A4 + d5 = P8).
In twelve-tone equal temperament, the most commonly used [[tuning system]], the A4 is [[Enharmonic|equivalent]] to a d5, as both have the size of exactly half an [[octave]]. In most other tuning systems, they are not equivalent, and neither is exactly equal to half an octave.

Any augmented fourth can be decomposed into three whole tones. For instance, the interval F–B is an augmented fourth and can be decomposed into the three adjacent whole tones F–G, G–A, and A–B.

It is not possible to decompose a diminished fifth into three adjacent whole tones. The reason is that a whole tone is a [[major second]], and according to the rule of interval addition explained in [[Interval (music)#Number|Interval (music)]], the composition of three seconds is always a fourth (for instance, an A4). To obtain a fifth (for instance, a d5), it is necessary to add another second. For instance, using the notes of the C major scale, the diminished fifth B–F can be decomposed into the four adjacent intervals
: B–C ([[minor second]]), C–D (major second), D–E (major second), and E–F (minor second).
Using the notes of a chromatic scale, B–F may be also decomposed into the four adjacent intervals
: B–C{{Music|sharp}} (major second), C{{Music|sharp}}–D{{Music|sharp}} (major second), D{{Music|sharp}}–E{{Music|sharp}} (major second), and E{{Music|sharp}}–F{{Music|natural}} ([[diminished second]]).
Notice that the last diminished second is formed by two [[Enharmonic|enharmonically equivalent]] notes (E{{Music|sharp}} and F{{Music|natural}}). On a [[piano keyboard]], these notes are produced by the same key. However, in the above-mentioned naming convention, they are considered different notes, as they are written on different [[staff position]]s and have different diatonic functions within music theory.