40/27
| Interval information |
[sound info]
The grave fifth of 40/27 is the interval between 9/8 and 5/3. It is 81/80, a syntonic comma, flat of 3/2. In some contexts it may be considered a wolf fifth. In meantone, of course, it is equated with a perfect fifth. Although often underappreciated on account of its rather dirty sound, it can nevertheless prove useful in the hands of the right composer. Specifically, when used as an interval in its own right, or as the interval spanning the difference between the root and the fifth of a chord, it creates a subtle tension that, in classical-leaning styles, is best followed up either by a chord containing a 64/45 tritone for an increase in tension, or by a chord with a perfect fifth between the root and the fifth for a decrease in tension. Alternatively, a chord built around this grave fifth may be used in chord that acts as the final chord in a deceptive cadence with the effect of making such a cadence all the more powerful.