In classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 from Western culture

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

, a diminished sixth is an interval

Interval (music)

In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...

 produced by narrowing

Diminution

In Western music and music theory, diminution has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in which a long note is divided into a series of shorter, usually melodic, values...

 a minor sixth

Minor sixth

-Subminor sixth:In music, a subminor sixth or septimal sixth is an interval that is noticeably narrower than a minor sixth but noticeably wider than a diminished sixth.The sub-minor sixth is an interval of a 14:9 ratio or alternately 11:7....

 by a chromatic semitone. For example, the interval from A to F is a minor sixth, eight semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to F, and from A to F are diminished sixths, spanning seven semitones. Being diminished, it is considered a dissonant

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

 interval.

Its inversion

Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...

 is the augmented third

Augmented third

In classical music from Western culture, an augmented third is an interval produced by widening a major third by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to E is a major third, four semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to E, and from C to E are augmented thirds, spanning...

, and its enharmonic equivalent is the perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

.

Wolf fifth

A severely dissonant

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

 diminished sixth is observed when the instrument is tuned using a Pythagorean

Pythagorean tuning

Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency relationships of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2. This interval is chosen because it is one of the most consonant...

 or a meantone temperament

Meantone temperament

Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a stack of perfect fifths, but in meantone, each fifth is narrow compared to the ratio 27/12:1 in 12 equal temperament, the opposite of...

 tuning system. Typically, this is the interval between G♯ and E♭. Since it seems to howl like a wolf (because of the beating

Beat (acoustics)

In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....

), and since it is meant to be the enharmonic equivalent to a fifth, this interval is called the wolf fifth. Notice that a justly

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...

 tuned fifth is the most consonant

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

 interval after the perfect unison and the perfect octave.