Definition of "tone" []

• Music A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note. (noun)
• Music The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step. (noun)
• Music A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant. (noun)
• The quality or character of sound. (noun)
• The characteristic quality or timbre of a particular instrument or voice. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Because the tone can be heard on pairs other than the one you put it on, when tone or tone+ are inappropriate."
• "_Leading tone_ -- the tone which demands resolution to the tonic (one-half step above it)."
• "There is no particular basis for this theory, for although all scales must of course begin with the key-tone or tonic, this tonic may be referred to by any syllable which will serve as a basis for an association process enabling one to feel the force of the tone as a closing point -- a _home tone_."