subsemitonen.
/ˈsʌbˌsɛmɪtəʊn/, U.S. /ˈsəbˌsɛmiˌtoʊn/, /ˈsəbˌsɛˌmaɪˌtoʊn/ Music.
The note lying one note below the upper tonic in a scale. Cf. subtonic n. 1.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > diatonic scale series > notes in diatonic scale
keya1450
seventh1591
fifth1597
final1609
octave1656
sub-octave1659
keynote1677
mediant1721
sensible note?1775
subdominant?1775
submediant?1775
medius1782
leading note1786
nominal1786
subsemitone1799
superdominant1806
supertonic1806
tonic1806
subtonic1817
dominant1823
sensitive note1845
nominal note1884
1799 A. F. C. Kollmann Ess. Pract. Musical Composition xi. 98 The above mentioned Bass Grace, or a note and its sub-semitone held down together, cannot have a good effect upon a musical ear.
1806 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music (ed. 2) Sub-Semitone, the name by which theorists distinguish the sharp seventh, or sensible, of any key.
1851 J. F. Warner tr. G. Weber Theory Musical Composition I. 264 The minor key has two different dominant harmonies, one with a major third (as the indispensable subsemitone or leading note), and a second with a minor third.
1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 411/1 Subsemitone [Leading note].
1945 Musical Q. 31 243 Through the use of the subsemitone before the final chord we arrive at an interesting cadence made of F, G, D, and G chords.
1992 E. S. Beebe in N. K. Baker & B. R. Hanning Musical Humanism & its Legacy ii. 237 It seems likely that many of the A-flats in this section should be read as A-naturals, representing the (temporary) modal sub-semitone.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1799