The twelfth root of two or (or equivalently ) is an algebraic irrational number, approximately equal to 1.0594631. It is most important in Western music theory, where it represents the frequency ratio (musical interval) of a semitone () in twelve-tone equal temperament. This number was proposed for the first time in relationship to musical tuning in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It allows measurement and comparison of different intervals (frequency ratios) as consisting of different numbers of a single interval, the equal tempered semitone (for example, a minor third is 3 semitones, a major third is 4 semitones, and perfect fifth is 7 semitones). A semitone itself is divided into 100 cents (1 cent = ). Numerical value The twelfth root of two to 20 significant figures is . Fraction approximations in increasing order of accuracy are , , and . , its numerical value has been computed to at least twenty billion decimal digits. The equal-tempered chromatic scale A musical interval is a ratio of frequencies and the equal-tempered chromatic scale divides the octave (which has a ratio of 2:1) into twelve equal parts. Each note has a frequency that is 2 times that of the one below it. Applying this value successively to the tones of a chromatic scale, starting from A above middle C (known as A4) with a frequency of 440 Hz, produces the following sequence of pitches: The final A (A5: 880 Hz) is exactly twice the frequency of the lower A (A4: 440 Hz), that is, one octave higher. Other tuning scales Other tuning scales use slightly different interval ratios: The just or Pythagorean perfect fifth is 3/2, and the difference between the equal tempered perfect fifth and the just is a grad, the twelfth root of the Pythagorean comma (). The equal tempered Bohlen–Pierce scale uses the interval of the thirteenth root of three (). Stockhausen's Studie II (1954) makes use of the twenty-fifth root of five (), a compound major third divided into 5×5 parts. The delta scale is based on ≈. The gamma scale is based on ≈. The beta scale is based on ≈. The alpha scale is based on ≈. Pitch adjustment Since the frequency ratio of a semitone is close to 106% (), increasing or decreasing the playback speed of a recording by 6% will shift the pitch up or down by about one semitone, or "half-step". Upscale