Number of letters counted |
Generic interval name |
1 | unison |
2 | second |
3 | third |
4 | fourth |
5 | fifth |
6 | sixth |
7 | seventh |
8 | octave (eighth) |
The table below shows the interval names and the number of half steps associated with each type of interval.
Interval name | No. of half steps |
unison | 0 |
minor second | 1 |
major second | 2 |
minor third | 3 |
major third | 4 |
perfect fourth | 5 |
(tritone) | (6) |
perfect fifth | 7 |
minor sixth | 8 |
major sixth | 9 |
minor seventh | 10 |
major seventh | 11 |
octave (eighth) | 12 |
Notice from the chart above: The terms “major” and “minor” are reserved for second, third, sixth, and seventh intervals. The term “perfect” is reserved for unison, fourth, fifth, and octave intervals, though you really don’t hear it a lot with unison and octave. So, fourths and fifths, for sure, get the “perfect” term. You won’t ever hear perfect second or perfect third because the perfect term only goes with unison, fourth, fifth, and octave, as I noted above. Later, you’ll learn about augmented and diminished terms. They have purposes as well. Here’s the tricky part though. You now know that an interval with 4 half steps separating the notes is called a major third. An example of this would be C to E. This is the same interval that helps to create the major chord. Let’s look at an interval like C to Eb. What would this be called? Just count up the half steps: C to Db is 1 Db to D is 2 D to Eb is 3 3 half steps = minor third Keep in mind that your answer must also pass the “generic interval” test. Is C to Eb a third? C is 1 D is 2 E is 3 Yes, it passes! What about C to D#? C to Db is 1 Db to D is 2 D to D# is 3 Hmmm, it has three half steps. Three half steps means a third sure enough, but would this pass the “generic test?” C is 1 D is 2 According to what we know about naming intervals, this should be a second. ANY C to ANY D is a second — no doubt about it! This is where you will need to use the qualifying terms: Augmented and Diminished. Augmented means to make bigger. Diminished means to make smaller. In this case, we have a second that is three half steps apart. Since we can’t call it a third, we will have to call it an augmented second… in other words, a “second made bigger.” So basically, when an interval is a half step larger, it is said to be augmented. When an interval is a half step smaller, it is said to be diminished. I’m going to quiz you on this but first, let’s do a practice question together. What is a major third up from D? Step 1: Determine generic interval: D is 1 E is 2 F is 3 So far, I know that a third up from D is going to be SOME kind of F. I don’t know which F at the moment but because I have a good education in “generic intervals,” I know that a third up from D can be nothing other than some kind of F. Step 2: Determine specific interval: Once we’ve determined some kind of F, we need to figure out what kind of F it would need to be to create a major third interval. From our chart above, we know that major third intervals always have 4 half steps in between the lower and upper note. So start at D: D to D# is 1 D# to E is 2 E to F is 3 F to ____ is 4 This is the big question. Do we say F# or Gb? Well, since we’ve already done step 1 and we know we’re looking for SOME KIND OF F, it would make absolutely NO SENSE to choose Gb. Therefore, the answer is F#. Answer: From D to F# is a major third interval. Now, this gets so much faster over time. Trust me. You’ll be identifying intervals in seconds as you rehearse these concepts more and more. Let’s complete these questions: 1) A perfect fifth up from B __________________________________ 2) A perfect fifth down from C __________________________________ 3) A minor third up from Eb __________________________________ 4) A major sixth up from A __________________________________ 5) A major third down from G __________________________________ 6) A perfect fourth up from F __________________________________ 7) A major second down from C __________________________________ 8) A minor seventh up from A __________________________________ 9) A major sixth down from D __________________________________ 10) A minor third down from F __________________________________ Answers are below: 1) A perfect fifth up from B Generic: B is 1 C is 2 D is 3 E is 4 F is 5 Specific: B to C is 1 C to C# is 2 C# to D is 3 D to D# is 4 D# to E is 5 E to F is 6 F to F# is 7 Answer: B up to F# is perfect fifth 2) A perfect fifth down from C Generic: C is 1 B is 2 A is 3 G is 4 F is 5 Note: Counting down generically is the same thing. Just count alphabet backwards. Specific: C to B is 1 B to Bb is 2 Bb to A is 3 A to Ab is 4 Ab to G is 5 G to Gb is 6 Gb to F is 7 Answer: C down to F is a perfect fifth 3) A minor third up from Eb Generic: E is 1 F is 2 G is 3 Specific: Eb to E is 1 E to F is 2 F to Gb is 3 Answer: Eb up to Gb is a minor third 4) A major sixth up from A Generic: A is 1 B is 2 C is 3 D is 4 E is 5 F is 6 Specific: A to A# is 1 A# to B is 2 B to C is 3 C to C# is 4 C# to D is 5 D to D# is 6 D# to E is 7 E to F is 8 F to F# is 9 Answer: A up to F# is a major sixth 5) A major third down from G Generic: G is 1 F is 2 E is 3 Specific: G to F# is 1 F# to F is 2 F to E is 3 E to Eb is 4 Answer: G down to Eb is a major third 6) A perfect fourth up from F Generic:
F is 1 G is 2 A is 3 B is 4 Specific: F to Gb is 1 Gb to G is 2 G to Ab is 3 Ab to A is 4 A to Bb is 5 Answer: F up to Bb is a perfect fourth 7) A major second down from C Generic: C is 1 B is 2 Specific: C to B is 1 B to Bb is 2 Answer: C down to Bb is a major second 8) A minor seventh up from A Generic: A is 1 B is 2 C is 3 D is 4 E is 5 F is 6 G is 7 Specific: A to A# is 1 A# to B is 2 B to C is 3 C to C# is 4 C# to D is 5 D to D# is 6 D# to E is 7 E to F is 8 F to F# is 9 F# to G is 10 Answer: A up to G is a minor seventh 9) A major sixth down from D Generic: D is 1 C is 2 B is 3 A is 4 G is 5 F is 6 Specific: D to C# is 1 C# to C is 2 C to B is 3 B to A# is 4 A# to A is 5 A to G# is 6 G# to G is 7 G to F# is 8 F# to F is 9 Answer: D down to F is a major sixth 10) A minor third down from F Generic: F is 1 E is 2 D is 3 Specific: F to E is 1 E to Eb is 2 Eb to D is 3 Answer: F down to D is a minor third We’re done for this lesson. I hope you enjoyed it! Coupled with last month’s newsletter, you should have a good knowledge of intervals and will never quote a major or minor chord wrong again. Remember: Major chord = Major third plus perfect fifth interval Minor chord = Minor third plus perfect fifth interval
Explore these chord types to prepare for future newsletters:
- Major triads; see pg chapter 5 of 300pg course
- Minor triads; see pg chapter 8 of 300pg course
- Major sixth chords; see pg chapter 13 of 300pg course
- Minor sixth chords; see pg chapter 13 of 300pg course
- Seventh (dominant) chords; see pg chapter 10 of 300pg course
- Minor seventh chords; see pg chapter 10 of 300pg course
- Major ninth chords; see pg chapter 14 of 300pg course
The following two tabs change content below.
Jermaine Griggs
Founder at HearandPlay.com
Hi, I'm Jermaine Griggs, founder of this site. We teach people how to express themselves through the language of music. Just as you talk and listen freely, music can be enjoyed and played in the same way... if you know the rules of the "language!" I started this site at 17 years old in August 2000 and more than a decade later, we've helped literally millions of musicians along the way. Enjoy!
Comments on this entry are closed.