Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to tone or tonality in music: Pertaining to the organization of musical tones and chords around a central note, known as a tonic or keynote.
   • Using pitch to distinguish word meaning: Describing a language in which variations in the pitch or tone of a syllable can change the meaning of a word.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The composer's early work is strictly tonal, centered around a clear key.
  • Vietnamese is a tonal language; the word "ma" can mean 'ghost', 'mother', 'rice seedling', or 'tomb' depending on its tone.

Advanced Usage

• "Tonal center": In music theory, the central note or chord to which other tones gravitate, establishing the key.
  • Despite its complexity, the piece still has a discernible tonal center.
• "Tonal quality": Refers to the character or timbre of a sound.
  • The tonal quality of the old violin was warm and rich.

Variants and Related Words

• Tonality (n): The character of a piece of music based on its key or tonal center.
  • The symphony is a masterpiece of Western tonality.
• Atonal (adj): Lacking a tonal center or key; not tonal.
  • The atonal composition was challenging for the audience.

Synonyms

• Key-based (in music).
• Pitch-based (in linguistics).

Related Phrases

• Tonal language: A language that uses pitch to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning.
  • Learning a tonal language requires careful attention to pitch contours.
• Tonal harmony: Harmony that is functional and based on a key.
  • The course focuses on the rules of tonal harmony from the common practice period.

Adjective

1. having tonality; i.e. tones and chords organized in relation to one tone such as a keynote or tonic
2. employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words
   • Chinese is a tonal language