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      last updated: 2003-12-22T16:20:06Z
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The '''cent''' is a [[logarithmic measure]] of relative [[pitch (music)|pitch]] or [[interval (music)|intervals]]. 1200 cents are equal to one [[octave]], and an [[equal temperament|equally tempered]] [[semitone]] is equal to 100 cents. The formula to determine the value in cents between two notes with [[frequency|frequencies]] ''a'' and ''b'' is:

:<math>n = 1200 \log_2 \left( \frac{a}{b} \right). </math>

The measure was developed by [[A. J. Ellis]] around the [[1870s]], and was published in his edition of [[Hermann von Helmholtz]]'s ''On the Sensations of Tone''. It has since become the standard way of measuring intervals in [[equal temperament]] systems or for comparison with equal temperament systems.

See also: ''[[music]]''

==External Link==
*[http://sonic-arts.org/dict/cents.htm Definitions of tuning terms: Cents]
*[http://members.tripod.com/~tuning_archive/on_site_tree/robertwalker/cents_to_from_ratios.html How to convert a ratio to cents, includes application which does it for you]

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====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "Cent_(music)" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_(music) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_(music)], used under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]