What Is a Tritone? The Devil's Interval, Explained

What is a tritone? A tritone is the interval of three whole tones, six semitones, half an octave. C to F sharp is a tritone. It is also called the devil's interval, from the Latin diabolus in musica, because it sounds tense and unresolved. In Veena, the free AI DAW in your browser, CoProducer writes the chords that use it and you can open every note.

The tritone in numbers

Name	Size	Example
Tritone	3 whole tones, 6 semitones	C to F sharp
Augmented fourth	The same interval, spelled as a fourth	C to F sharp
Diminished fifth	The same interval, spelled as a fifth	C to G flat

On the keyboard the augmented fourth and the diminished fifth are the same two keys. The spelling depends on the key and the chord around them.

Why it sounds tense

The tritone sits at the exact middle of the octave and does not belong to a stable chord, so the ear wants it to move. In a dominant seventh chord it does the work: in G7 (G, B, D, F) the third, B, and the seventh, F, form a tritone. They resolve inward by half a step to C and E, the notes of a C major chord. That pull from G7 to C is one of the most common moves in harmony.

Hear a tritone in Veena

Open the piano roll and place C and F sharp together, or B and F.
Ask CoProducer for the chords. "A jazz-influenced neo-soul beat in C major with Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7." It writes the progression as tracks.
Open the G7 notes. Find B and F, the tritone, then listen as the next chord resolves it.
Change it. Move a note, or ask CoProducer to swap G7 for a different chord, and compare the feeling.

Every note stays editable, and one undo reverses a change. See chord types for the families a progression draws on and what a chord progression is, and browse the rest of the music production glossary. Build a progression free.

Frequently asked questions

How many semitones is a tritone?

Six. A tritone spans three whole tones, which is six semitones, half an octave. C up to F sharp is a tritone. In Veena, the free AI DAW in your browser, you can hear it by playing C and F sharp together in the piano roll.

Why is the tritone called the devil's interval?

Because it sounds unstable and tense, and it has long carried the Latin nickname diabolus in musica. The sound wants to move somewhere. In Veena, ask CoProducer for a dominant seventh chord and it writes one, so you can listen to the tension and its resolution.

Is a tritone the same as an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth?

They are the same distance on the keyboard, six semitones, written two ways. Spelled as C to F sharp it is an augmented fourth; spelled as C to G flat it is a diminished fifth. In Veena's piano roll both sound identical, since the keys are the same.

Where does the tritone appear in chords?

In a dominant seventh chord such as G7, the third (B) and the seventh (F) form a tritone. That pair pulls toward the tonic chord: B up to C and F down to E. In Veena, CoProducer builds progressions with seventh chords as editable notes you can open and inspect.

How do I use a tritone in my own song?

Use a dominant seventh chord to create tension, then resolve it to the chord a fifth below. Veena is an AI DAW with a personal music producer built in. Describe the song you want and CoProducer builds it with you — beats, chords, melody, arrangement and mix — as real tracks you can edit, mix and export. Free, in your browser.