So you're telling me there's something simple in music for once?
In this tutorial, we will talk about simple music intervals. So, let's have some fun.
2. Simple music intervals explained
A musical interval is the difference in pitch between 2 notes. There are two types of such intervals:
We have a total of 8 simple music intervals that we are going to discuss. The first one is called the prime and it consists of a single note. In terms of interval quality, a prime is perfect:
Basically, a prime is an interval between a note and...well...itself
. You can listen to a prime interval here.
Next up is the second, which is the difference between two consecutive notes. Seconds can be either major or minor. Tone/semitone wise, a major second contains 1 tone, while a minor second contains 1 semitone. Here are some examples:
Here are the examples above, played back.
Next up, we enter Avenged Sevenfold solo theory with the third. Similar to seconds, thirds can also be either major or minor. Major thirds contain 3 tones, each separated by the other by 1 tone, while a minor third has its tones separated by a tone and a semitone respectively. Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
As you can see, each and every interval is computed between two notes. The number giving us the name of the interval is based on how many pitches there are between the two notes, including them. In the case of the third, we have 3 tones: C, D, and E.
The next interval is the fourth music interval. Unlike seconds and thirds, fourths are perfect, quality-wise. A perfect fourth consists of 2 tones and 1 semitone. A particularly interesting type of fourth is the tritone (which basically means it has 3 tones in it), which you'll undoubtedly notice when we play some examples in a bit:
No, you are not summoning anything when playing a tritone, though it can be used to insert a creepy factor in your songs. Old Doom songs do that a lot (the ones from the 1993 and 1994 games...and whenever Plutonia and TNT Evilution dropped).
Here they are played back.
Next up is the fifth musical interval. Similar to fourths, fifths are also perfect and they consist of 3 tones and a semitone. Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
Our next interval is the sixth. Sixths can be either major (4 tones and 1 semitone) or minor (3 tones and 2 semitones). Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
Our penultimate interval is the seventh. Sevenths can also be either major (5 tones and 1 semitone) or minor (4 tones and 2 semitones). Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
And finally, we have the octave. Octaves are perfect and they consist of 5 tones and 2 semitones. Here is an example:
Here they are played back.
Worth noting is that intervals can be either ascending or descending. More often than not, when referring to an interval, you'll usually refer to it in an ascending manner. However, as Papa Gates explained in his circle of 5ths video, you can also have descending intervals, where you try to compute the distance between two notes with the first note having a higher pitch than the second one.
Intervals are important for a variety of reasons, but the most important one by far is that they help you form chords. We'll go through this process in a separate series but what you need to know is that intervals will be extremely useful when learning how chords are formed.
And that's a wrap for this tutorial. Next time, we are going to talk about how major and minor scales are formed. See you then.
- Topics of discussion
- Simple music intervals explained
In this tutorial, we will talk about simple music intervals. So, let's have some fun.
2. Simple music intervals explained
A musical interval is the difference in pitch between 2 notes. There are two types of such intervals:
- simple - the ones we will be discussing in this tutorial, and their name comes from the fact that they are located within the same octave
- compound - these ones are obtained by putting together two simple music intervals and they span two octaves
- a number which indicates how many different tones the interval contains
- a quality which gives us the level of consonance the interval has (no one's gonna ask you about this so don't worry)
We have a total of 8 simple music intervals that we are going to discuss. The first one is called the prime and it consists of a single note. In terms of interval quality, a prime is perfect:
Basically, a prime is an interval between a note and...well...itself
. You can listen to a prime interval here.Next up is the second, which is the difference between two consecutive notes. Seconds can be either major or minor. Tone/semitone wise, a major second contains 1 tone, while a minor second contains 1 semitone. Here are some examples:
Here are the examples above, played back.
Next up, we enter Avenged Sevenfold solo theory with the third. Similar to seconds, thirds can also be either major or minor. Major thirds contain 3 tones, each separated by the other by 1 tone, while a minor third has its tones separated by a tone and a semitone respectively. Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
As you can see, each and every interval is computed between two notes. The number giving us the name of the interval is based on how many pitches there are between the two notes, including them. In the case of the third, we have 3 tones: C, D, and E.
The next interval is the fourth music interval. Unlike seconds and thirds, fourths are perfect, quality-wise. A perfect fourth consists of 2 tones and 1 semitone. A particularly interesting type of fourth is the tritone (which basically means it has 3 tones in it), which you'll undoubtedly notice when we play some examples in a bit:
No, you are not summoning anything when playing a tritone, though it can be used to insert a creepy factor in your songs. Old Doom songs do that a lot (the ones from the 1993 and 1994 games...and whenever Plutonia and TNT Evilution dropped).
Here they are played back.
Next up is the fifth musical interval. Similar to fourths, fifths are also perfect and they consist of 3 tones and a semitone. Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
Our next interval is the sixth. Sixths can be either major (4 tones and 1 semitone) or minor (3 tones and 2 semitones). Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
Our penultimate interval is the seventh. Sevenths can also be either major (5 tones and 1 semitone) or minor (4 tones and 2 semitones). Here are some examples:
Here they are played back.
And finally, we have the octave. Octaves are perfect and they consist of 5 tones and 2 semitones. Here is an example:
Here they are played back.
Worth noting is that intervals can be either ascending or descending. More often than not, when referring to an interval, you'll usually refer to it in an ascending manner. However, as Papa Gates explained in his circle of 5ths video, you can also have descending intervals, where you try to compute the distance between two notes with the first note having a higher pitch than the second one.
Intervals are important for a variety of reasons, but the most important one by far is that they help you form chords. We'll go through this process in a separate series but what you need to know is that intervals will be extremely useful when learning how chords are formed.
And that's a wrap for this tutorial. Next time, we are going to talk about how major and minor scales are formed. See you then.
Last edited:
