microtonalityn.
/mʌɪkrə(ʊ)tə(ʊ)ˈnalᵻti/, U.S. /ˌmaɪkrəˌtoʊˈnælədi/, /ˌmaɪkroʊtəˈnælədi/ Music.
The use of microtones; a microtonal system of composition.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > [noun] > style by tonal organization > specific
enharmonic1603
chromaticism1879
atonality1922
polytonality1923
bitonality1927
diatonism1927
atonalism1928
quarter-tonality1930
diatonicism1931
pentatonism1931
tritonality1931
pandiatonicism1937
microtonality1946
pantonality1946
dodecaphonism1951
dodecaphony1952
serialism1955
pentatonicism1958
minimalism1981
tonalism1990
1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) x. 234 The blues scale..gives all the opportunity needed for microtonality.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 627/2 The microtonality of the Czech Alois Haba (1893–), who cut the scale into 1/ 4- and 1/ 6- tones.
1992 Independent 6 Mar. 31/2 Last December's forum..designed specifically to develop the idea of microtonality.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1946