2.7 Sixth, seventh and octave
| Category: Harmony | Tags: Intervals, Ear training: intervals |
Theory
This chapter is the continuation of Chapter 1.9 Intervals and Chapter 1.11 Second, third, fourth and fifth. In this chapter you will learn more about the intervals sixth, seventh and octave. You learn about the character of these intervals. In the videos and examples, I show how to make these intervals. In the exercises, you learn to recognize intervals and you are going to make them yourself. You will also learn to distinguish these intervals by ear.
1. Sixth: the 6-step interval
The sixth is an interval with 6 steps. On the piano, we can find it one white key higher than the fifth. The distances are getting bigger! A sixth sounds nice and round, to speak in musical terms - consonant.
The sixth C A
Due to the greater distance this interval occurs less often in melodies, but much more often in chords. The sixth is actually an inverted third. Carl Czerny composed a studie, where you hear only sixths in the melody, just listen:
Video
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Examples
Which tones do you get if you make sixths on the natural notes?
2. Seventh: the 7-step interval
The seventh is an interval with 7 steps. Like the second, a seventh sounds dissonant when you play it separately. The seventh is quite difficult to sing.
The seventh C B
The seventh plays a minor role in melodies, but is a very important interval when it comes to chords. If you learn about chords, you will soon come across the term seventh chord. These seventh chords occur mostly in classical music, jazz and pop music. The beautiful piano composition "Pavane pour une infante defunte" by Ravel, has a lot of sevenths. And used in this way, we do not experience it as a dissonant:
Video
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Examples
Which tones do you get if you make sevenths on the natural notes?
3. Octave: the 8-step interval
The octave is an interval with 8 steps. The octave is derived from Latin - numeral octavus - which means 'eighth'. On the piano, count up 8 white keys from any key and you will get a key with the same name. You are playing the same tone, but an octave higher. The octave always sounds very consonant - the same note 8 steps higher or lower makes for a pure sounding interval, the tones enrich each other.
The octave C C
The octave, like the third and the fifth, is one of the most important intervals in music. Very often, tones are doubled by playing an octave. This happens in melodies but especially with chords, making them sound richer. Listen and watch a sample of octave acrobatics.
Video
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Examples
Which tones do you get if you make octaves on the natural notes?
4. Practise
Harmony exercise 2a: practise recognizing a sixth, seventh and octave from musical notation.
Harmony exercise 2b: practise making a sixth, seventh and octave on the natural notes.
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Practise
Ear Training exercise 2f: practise distinguishing the difference between the sixth, seventh and octave by ear.
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Which interval do you hear?
Choise 1: sixth
Choise 2: seventh
Choise 3: octave
Practical steps
Sing the interval being played to train your inner hearing abilties. Decide which interval is being played.
Answer: sixth.
Summary
Sixth, seventh and octave
- 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 an octave
Sixth, seventh and octave on the natural notes |
|||
| natural note | sixth | seventh | octave |
| A | A F | A G | A A |
| B | B G | B A | B B |
| C | C A | C B | C C |
| D | D B | D C | D D |
| E | E C | E D | E E |
| F | F D | F E | F F |
| G | G E | G F | G G |
Practise
Harmony exercise 2a: practise recognizing a sixth, seventh and octave from musical notation.
Harmony exercise 2b: practise making a sixth, seventh and octave on the natural notes.
Get the full courseEar training
Ear Training exercise 2f: practise distinguishing the difference between the sixth, seventh and octave by ear.
Get the full course