Musical intervals smaller than a semitone (half-step), such as quarter-tones or sixth-tones. These pitch divisions create subtle gradations between the standard twelve pitches of Western music.
From Greek mikros 'small' and 'tones,' literally meaning 'small tones.' The term developed as 20th-century composers explored pitch systems beyond the twelve-tone equal temperament of Western music.
Microtones are like the musical equivalent of seeing new colors - composers like Harry Partch built entire orchestras of custom instruments to explore these 'between-the-cracks' pitches, revealing that our familiar twelve-note system is just one slice of an infinite pitch spectrum!
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