1.9 Intervals

In this chapter you will learn about intervals. In the video, I show what intervals are and you'll learn the names of the 7 most important intervals. You are going to practice these names. In Ear training, you will hear how these 7 intervals sound.

1. What is an interval?

When you make music, you play tones with different pitches. Regardless of the instrument you play - whether you play notes in sequence or at the same time, you play tones of higher and lower pitch. The difference between a higher and a lower tone is called an interval.

An interval measures the distance between two notes.

Therefore, intervals are always made up of 2 tones. For example, if you play 3 tones, that is not called an interval.

The easiest way to determine the distance between 2 tones is to count the white keys on the piano. Count from the lowest to the highest white key to determine the number of that distance. Note: the lowest key is '1' ! Below, you can see an example of an interval with a distance of 5.

2. What are the names of the intervals?

If you can count the distance between 2 tones, then you will know its name! The names of intervals are numbers.

There are 7 important common intervals. These are:

• second, interval of 2 steps
• third, interval of 3 steps
• fourth, interval of 4 steps
• fifth, interval of 5 steps
• sixth, interval of 6 steps
• seventh, interval of 7 steps
• octave, interval of 8 steps

Video

Examples

What are the names of the intervals?

3. Practise

Harmony exercise 1b: practise the names of the intervals.

4. Ear training

Listen to the sound of the intervals.

The second C D

The third C E

The fourth C F

The fifth C G

The sixth C A

The seventh C B

The octave C C

An interval measures the distance between two notes.

There are 7 important common intervals. These are:

• An interval of 2 steps is called a second
• An interval of 3 steps is called a third
• An interval of 4 steps is called a fourth
• An interval of 5 steps is called a fifth
• An interval of 6 steps is called a sixth
• An interval of 7 steps is called a seventh
• An interval of 8 steps is called a octave

Harmony exercise 1b: practise the names of the intervals.