In music, using only the notes of a major or minor scale without chromatic alterations; following the natural scale pattern.
From Greek dia- 'through' + tonos 'tone,' literally meaning 'through the tones.' The term emerged in music theory to describe scales that use consecutive intervals.
'Mary Had a Little Lamb' is diatonic—it uses only notes from one scale—but if you added a sharp or flat note, it would become chromatic and suddenly sound more complex or jazzy.
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