diatonic : Idioms & Phrases
Diatonic scale
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noun a scale with eight notes in an octave; all but two are separated by whole tones
WordNet
(Mus.) , a scale consisting of eight sounds with seven intervals, of which two are semitones and five are whole tones; a modern major or minor scale, as distinguished from the chromatic scale.
Webster 1913
major diatonic scale
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noun a diatonic scale with notes separated by whole tones except for the 3rd and 4th and 7th and 8th
major scale.
WordNet
minor diatonic scale
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noun a diatonic scale with notes separated by whole tones except for the 2nd and 3rd and 5th and 6th
minor scale.