tone

1. Music.
   1. A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note.
   2. The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step.
   3. A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant.
2. 1. The quality or character of sound.
   2. The characteristic quality or timbre of a particular instrument or voice.
3. 1. The pitch of a word used to determine its meaning or to distinguish differences in meaning.
   2. The particular or relative pitch of a word, phrase, or sentence.
4. Manner of expression in speech or writing: took an angry tone with the reporters.
5. A general quality, effect, or atmosphere: a room with an elegant tone.
6. 1. A color or shade of color: light tones of blue.
   2. Quality of color: The green wallpaper had a particularly somber tone.
7. The general effect in painting of light, color, and shade.
8. Physiology.
   1. The normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles.
   2. Normal firmness of a tissue or an organ.

1. To give a particular tone or inflection to.
2. To soften or change the color of (a painting or photographic negative, for example).
3. To sound monotonously; intone.
4. To make firmer or stronger. Often used with up: exercises that tone up the body.

1. To assume a particular color quality.
2. To harmonize in color.

tone down

1. To make less vivid, harsh, or violent; moderate.

[Middle English ton, from Old French, from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos, string, a stretching.]

Physically, a sound that is composed of discrete frequency (or sine-wave) components; psychologically, an auditory sensation that is characterized foremost by its pitch or pitches.

The physical definition distinguishes a tone from a noise, wherein the components form a continuum of frequencies. Tones may be pure, consisting of a single frequency, or they may be complex. Complex tones, in turn, may be periodic or not periodic. Periodic complex tones repeat themselves at rapid regular intervals. They have frequency components that are harmonics—discrete frequencies that are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency. For example, the tone of an oboe consists of a fundamental frequency of 440 hertz, a second harmonic component with a frequency of 880 Hz, a third harmonic at 1320 Hz, and so on. In general, musical instruments that generate continuous sounds—the bowed strings, the brasses, and the woodwinds—create such periodic tones. Tones that are not periodic (aperiodic) have frequency components that do not fit a harmonic series. Percussive instruments such as kettledrums and bells make such aperiodic tones. See also Harmonic (periodic phenomena); Musical acoustics; Musical instruments; Periodic motion.

Pitch is a sensation of highness or lowness that is the basic element of melody. Periodic complex tones tend to have a single pitch, which listeners will match by a pure tone having a frequency equal to the fundamental frequency of the periodic complex tone. Aperiodic complex tones tend to have multiple pitches. A second psychological attribute of complex tones is tone color or timbre. Tone color is often represented by descriptive adjectives. The adjectives may be linked to the physical spectrum. Thus, a tone with strong harmonics above 1000 Hz may be called “bright.” A tone with no harmonics at all above 1000 Hz may be called “dull” or “stuffy.” See also Pitch; Psychoacoustics; Sound.

noun

1. A sound of distinct pitch and quality: timbre, tonality, tone color. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
2. A particular vocal quality that indicates some emotion or feeling: accent, inflection, intonation. Idioms: tone of voice. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
3. A distinctive way of expressing oneself: fashion, manner, mode, style, vein. See style/good style/bad style.
4. A general impression produced by a predominant quality or characteristic: air, ambiance, atmosphere, aura, feel, feeling, mood, smell. See be.
5. A prevailing quality, as of thought, behavior, or attitude: climate, mood, spirit, temper. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude.
6. The property by which the sense of vision can distinguish between objects, as a red apple and a green apple, that are very similar or identical in form and size: color, hue, shade, tint. See colors/colorless.
7. A shade of a color, especially a pale or delicate variation: cast, hue, tinge, tint. See colors/colorless.

phrasal verb - tone down

1. To make less emphatic or obvious: de-emphasize, play down. Informal soft-pedal. See show/hide.
2. To make or become less severe or extreme: moderate, mute, qualify, soften, subdue, tame, temper. See increase/decrease.

tone, a very vague critical term usually designating the mood or atmosphere of a work, although in some more restricted uses it refers to the author's attitude to the reader (e.g. formal, intimate, pompous) or to the subject‐matter (e.g. ironic, light, solemn, satiric, sentimental).

Adjective: tonal.

For more information on tone, visit Britannica.com.

Toning, a means of enhancing, modifying, or changing the overall colour of a photographic image by chemical treatment. Also a key element of some obsolete subtractive colour processes.

Toning has been a common feature of photographic practice since the earliest days of photography. Most daguerreotypes were gold toned, a process that served to strengthen and protect the fragile image. During the 19th century, albumen prints and early printing-out papers (see pop) were commonly toned in gold chloride baths, giving the rich sepia colour characteristic of images of the period. In the 20th century, sulphide or selenium toners were favoured for producing sepia prints, but black-and-white bromide prints were now being toned in a variety of hues using metal toners containing salts of elements such as uranium, cobalt, and vanadium. Mordant dye toning, which expanded the colour possibilities even further, was effectively introduced early in the 20th century and is now widely practised.

— John P. Ward

Bibliography

• Worobiec, T., Toning and Handcolouring Photographs (2002)

An aspect of the overall meaning of an utterance separated out by Frege (as the Beleuchtung of an utterance). An utterance may be made in a way that is especially apt to affect the feelings of an audience: it may be disquieting, or exciting, or sad, or arousing. Two utterances may thus share their content but differ in tone, if their affective impact is different. Separating the tone from the strict content, for example of a poem, is not straightforward.

1. normal degree of vigor and tension; in muscle, the resistance to passive elongation or stretch.
2. a healthy state of a part; tonus.
3. a particular quality of sound or voice.

The poet's or persona's attitude in style or expression toward the subject, e.g., loving, ironic, bitter, pitying, fanciful, solemn, etc. Tone can also refer to the overall mood of the poem itself, in the sense of a pervading atmosphere intended to influence the readers' emotional response and foster expectations of the conclusion.

Look up tone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Tone may refer to:

Contents 1 Artists 2 Theory 3 Miscellanea 4 Art 5 Language and writing 6 Geography 7 Ships 8 Physiology 9 People 10 Publications

Artists

Theory

• Pitch (music), the high and low sounds of a music note (see also pure tone)
• Note, the name of a pitch
• Whole tone, or major second, a commonly occurring musical interval
• Timbre, the quality of a musical note or sound that distinguishes different types of sound production
• Gregorian chants reciting formulas such as Psalm tone and Recitative
• In collaboration with pitch, tone controls the overall bass, mid, and treble frequencies heard within a certain note. Tone can make the same note or pitch sound darker or brighter, heavier or lighter, "bassier and treblier" in essence.

Miscellanea

• Tone, guitar ensemble based in Washington D.C.
• Tones, album by Eric Johnson
• 2 Tone (or Two Tone), style of music combining elements of ska and punk
• Tone, album by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ame

Art

• Tone, the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a colour.

Language and writing

• Tone (linguistics), the use of pitch in language to distinguish words
• Tone (literature), the mood or feeling of a literary work, as the author gives
• Tone (writing), grafitti writer, Czech republic, Brno

Geography

• River Tone, Somerset, England
• Tone River, Kanto region, Japan
• Tone, Ibaraki, Japan
• Tone District, Gunma, Japan
• Tône, a prefecture in Togo

Ships

• Tone, Japanese cruiser employed during World War 1
• Tone, Japanese cruiser employed during World War 2

Physiology

• Muscle tone, the state of tension or responsiveness of the organs or tissues of the body.
• Toning exercises, the use of exercise to develop hard, but not necessarily large, musculature

People

• Tone Loc, American hip hop artist and actor
• Franchot Tone, American actor
• Theobald Wolfe Tone, Irish republican
• Yasunao Tone, Japanese artist
• Tony, A popular Western Name

Publications

• Tone magazine, New Zealand technology magazine

piano rules

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tone, klang, musikalsk accent, tonefald, spændstighed, harmoni
v. tr. - tone, give farvenuance, lægge i tonbad
v. intr. - antage en tone, harmonisere

idioms:

• tone down    dæmpe, mildne
• tone in with    harmonere med
• tone up    give en farvenuance

Nederlands (Dutch)
toon, klank, geluid, schakering, karakter, stemming, harmoniëren

Français (French)
n. - (Mus, gén) timbre, (TV, Radio) son, ton (d'une voix), couleur, (Télécom) tonalité, (Physiol) tonus, (Mus) ton, (Ling) ton
v. tr. - (Physiol) donner du tonus à, tonifier, (Cosmét) tonifier
v. intr. - s'harmoniser

idioms:

• tone down    (lit) atténuer, (fig) atténuer, adoucir le ton de, adoucir
• tone in with    s'harmoniser avec
• tone up    donner du tonus à, tonifier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Farbton, Farbgebung, Schattierung, Ton, Klang, Intervall, Betonung, Stimmung, Tonus, Fitneß
v. - einen Ton verleihen, abtönen, tonen, harmonieren

idioms:

• tone down    abschwächen, dämpfen
• tone in with    farblich harmonieren mit
• tone up    in Form bringen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τόνος, ήχος, ύφος ή τόνος φωνής, χροιά, απόχρωση, δεσπόζων χαρακτήρας, πνεύμα, τάση
v. - (προσ)δίδω τόνο, τονίζω, τονώνω, ρυθμίζω, χρωματίζω

idioms:

• tone down    κατεβάζω τον τόνο, μετριάζω την ένταση, απαλύνω, μαλακώνω
• tone in with    εναρμονίζομαι με
• tone up    εντείνω, προσδίδω ένταση

Italiano (Italian)
sfumatura, tono

idioms:

• lower the tone    abbassa il tono
• tone down    smorzare
• tone in with    sintonizzarsi con

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tom (m), som (m), sotaque (m), caracter (m)
v. - combinar, abrandar, atenuar

idioms:

• lower the tone    baixar o tom
• tone down    suavizar o tom de
• tone in with    em sintonia com
• tone up    fortalecer-se, subir de ponto

Русский (Russian)
тон, фасон, физич. здоровый вид, гармонировать

idioms:

• lower the tone    снижать тон, понизить голос
• tone down    смягчать тон
• tone in with    согласовать тон, спеться с кем-л.
• tone up    повышать тонус (мускулов и т.д.)

Español (Spanish)
n. - tono, matiz, estilo, carácter, voz
v. tr. - dar tono a , dar un tono, modificar el tono o color
v. intr. - tomar un tono, color o matiz, armonizar con

idioms:

• tone down    moderar, atenuar
• tone in with    armonizar con, ir bien con
• tone up    subir de tono, fortalecerse

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ton (mus.), röst, tonfall, nyans, prägel, stil, atmosfär
v. - tona, ge rätt ton åt, bygga upp, spänna

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
音调, 语调, 音质, 用某种调子说, 给...定调子, 装腔作势地说, 给定音调, 呈现悦目色调, 颜色调和

idioms:

• tone down    降低, 柔和, 缓和
• tone in with    与...相配, 与...协调
• tone up    加强, 提高

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 音調, 語調, 音質
v. tr. - 用某種調子說, 給...定調子, 裝腔作勢地說, 給定音調
v. intr. - 呈現悅目色調, 顏色調和

idioms:

• tone down    降低, 柔和, 緩和
• tone in with    與...相配, 與...協調
• tone up    加強, 提高

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 음성, 곡조, 경향
v. tr. - 가락을 붙이다, 음조를 맞추다, 조색하다
v. intr. - 조화적인 색조를 띠다, 조화하다

idioms:

• tone down    부드럽게 하다, 부드러워지다
• tone in with    혼합하다, 조화하다
• tone up    강하게 하다, 높아지다, 강해지다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 音色, 調子, 風潮, 色調, 色合い, 楽音, 全音, トーン, 市況, 音, 傾向
v. - 調子を付ける, 音調を変える

idioms:

• dialling tone    発信音
• tone down    調子を和らげる, 調子が和らぐ
• tone in with    混ぜ合わせる, 調和する
• tone up    調子が上がる, 調子を上げる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نغمه, نبرة ألصوت (فعل) ينسجم, يتناغم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צליל, טון, נימה, אווירה, רוח, אופי, צביון, גוון, תפקוד תקין (של הגוף), גמישות, גישה ורגש המובעים במכתב, בריאות או איכות טובה, הדגשה של הברה אחת במילה, אפקט הצבע או השחור והלבן בתמונה‬
v. tr. - ‮שינה טון או צליל, העניק לצילום צבע אחר באמצעים כימיים‬
v. intr. - ‮השתנה בצבעיו בעקבות טיפול חומרים כימיים‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.