音律(おんりつ)

おんりつ
noun
melody; rhythm; musical temperament
music
1. melody; rhythm; musicality
The melodic or rhythmic quality of music, speech, or poetry.
美(うつく)しい音律(おんりつ)が響(ひび)く。
Beautiful melodies resound.
This poem has a distinctive rhythm.
Japanese haiku are composed in a 5-7-5 rhythm.
2. musical temperament; tuning system
A technical term in music theory referring to the system of dividing the octave into intervals (e.g., equal temperament, just intonation).
To adjust the tuning of a piano.
Baroque music and modern music use different tuning systems.
平均律(へいきんりつ)は最(もっと)も一般的(いっぱんてき)な音律(おんりつ)の一(ひと)つだ。
Equal temperament is one of the most common tuning systems.

Forms

音(おん) (sound) + 律(りつ) (rule, rhythm).

Usage

Sense 1 is used broadly for the musical or rhythmic quality of any sound, including poetry and speech. Sense 2 is a technical music theory term referring to specific tuning systems like 平均律(へいきんりつ) (equal temperament) or 純正律(じゅんせいりつ) (just intonation).

Related words