Superstitions and fear of the unknown have set guidelines for all types of scenarios and contexts. Man creates paranoia, confusion and even terror in elements that become so superfluous that his fear borders on the absurd. However, one of these elements has been considered taboo until relatively modern times. We are talking about the Devil’s tritone, a musical combination that became prohibited because it was related to the invocation of the devil. We hear it naturally in heavy metal and even jazz, but in the past it was the cause of imprisonments and even murders. Today at we tell you about the history of these simple musical notes, which, added to ignorance, caused great evils. Let’s see.
What is the Devil’s tritone?
We have all come to realize that in horror movie scenes, the addition of a deep and sinister musical note indicates that something terrifying is about to happen: some murderer will come out with an ax to confront the protagonist, a ghost is about to happen. of touching someone’s shoulder… Nowadays we know and are used to the fact that these tones are used to create suspense and are added as a complement to the climax of a scene that is intended to keep us on the edge of our seats. Nevertheless, In the Middle Ages, when all this was not even suspected, music was used as a resource in sacred art. The churches had a mastery of this art that enhanced religious beliefs.
Currently, it has been noted that An interval of notes was omitted in most of the sacred musical pieces of the Middle Ages, this is the so-called tritone.diabolus in music” (the devil in music), since it constituted an intonation related to terror. It was a kind of deep and long sound that emerged after an interval or distance between notes of three tones (which in music is known as “augmented fourth» either «diminished fifth«). The combination of the three notes contains six semitones from the first to the last, in the understanding of antiquity this marked the number of the beast: 666, so it had to be prohibited.
1. What is a tritone?
The Devil’s tritone was endowed with dark and sinister properties, which led him to be absolutely demonized. But if we look at the facts, the reality is that it is nothing more than a part of music. Specific, is an interval (a distance between notes), which is performed in three tones. In simpler words, it would be a distance of three notes. The tritone occurs naturally in any major key in the interval formed between the fourth and seventh degree of the key. Another element that distinguishes it in musical reading is that it is a symmetrical interval, that is, when heard inverted, it remains the same.
2. The Middle Ages and mysticism
It is well known that in medieval times supernatural aspects, the devil and all kinds of mystical content were the order of the day. Any strange or little-known phenomenon was closely related to satanic practices and occultism., which was awakening a certain social paranoia that fueled these ideas, evoking the most irrational theories to explain scientific facts. Music was not immune to this whole trend, so the Devil’s tritone soon acquired a popularity associated with collective terror.
At that time the theory arose that There were dissonant sounds, especially as a result of what Aristotle once designated as dignified music, typical of elevated spirits, and other vile music that alluded to evil. or to the “rabble”. From this point on, the “perfect dissonance” would be prohibited, causing death at the stake or a stay in prison for anyone who dared to sing it.
For the Catholic Church, the Devil’s tritone was the way the evil one managed to sneak in among people. The sound was distinguished because, far from generating a sensation of pleasure, it aroused a certain degree of tension, a shocking sound that altered anyone who heard it closely.
3. The Tritone becomes popular
Being such a deep note, this interval known as The Devil’s tritone was considered a perfect way to convey emotions of suffering and pain, Therefore, some artists began to use it in the era of romanticism, a historical moment in which those pagan and uneducated beliefs had been modified little by little. Furthermore, the power and authority of the Catholic Church had been declining, so authors such as Beethoven or Vivaldi recovered this sound to create many of their masterpieces. After this, the appearance of Jazz marked an era transmitting deep and emotional melodies thanks to its greater content of tritones.
Currently, the Devil’s tritone can be found in the musical genre of Heavy Metal, with the group Black Sabbath being the pioneers in venturing into this style. Even his own guitarist, Tony Iommi, referred to the Devil’s tritone in a particular way. The musician who was a pioneer in the genre expressed that when he began writing the band’s songs, he was simply looking for something that sounded good, that had an evil, gloomy and dark tone, but without ever taking into account that he was making demonic music. . From this use and the music of this band, metal coined the interval to create even more sinister and gloomy atmospheres, giving rise to the Catholic Church classifying this musical style as satanic music.
And you do you think? Is the Devil’s tritone really a way to contact the spiritual world? Do you think music like heavy metal has something satanic about it? Or is it simply Catholic tradition without further foundations? Leave us all your opinions in a comment. We will be looking forward to reading you! And if this topic has caught your attention, you may be interested in knowing the curious and gloomy story of the devil’s violinist. Amazing!