nontonal
/nɑnˈtoʊnəl/
adjective
- Not using or based on musical tones or a key; lacking a clear pitch center.
- Some modern pieces are nontonal, meaning they do not follow a traditional melody.
- She found nontonal jazz challenging to listen to at first.
- The composer's nontonal music surprised the audience with its unusual sounds.
- Not relating to the pitch of a sound in language; not using tone to distinguish word meanings.
- In nontonal languages, the same syllable can be said in different pitches without changing the word's meaning.
- English is a nontonal language, unlike Mandarin or Thai.
- Learning a tonal language can be hard for speakers of nontonal languages.
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