In music, 72 equal temperament, called twelfth-tone, 72-tet, 72-edo, or 72-et, is the tempered scale derived by dividing the octave into twelfth-tones, or in other words 72 equal steps (equal frequency ratios). Play Each step represents a frequency ratio of 72√2, or 16 2⁄3 cents, which divides the 100 cent "halftone" into 6 equal parts (100 ÷ 16 2⁄3 = 6) and is thus a "twelfth-tone" ( Play ). 72 being divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 72, 72-tet includes those equal temperaments.
This division of the octave has attracted much attention from tuning theorists, since on the one hand it subdivides the standard 12 equal temperament and on the other hand it accurately represents overtones up to the twelfth partial tone, and hence can be used for 11-limit music. It was theoreticized in the form of twelfth-tones by Alois Hába and Ivan Wyschnegradsky, who considered it as a good approach to the continuum of sound. 72-et is also cited among the divisions of the tone by Julián Carrillo, who preferred the sixteenth-tone as an approximation to continuous sound in discontinuous scales.