Learn Sheet MusicMusic intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. Recognizing them lets you read by leaps instead of note by note, and it is the foundation for understanding chords and scales.
How to count an interval
The number of an interval is how many note names it spans, counting both ends. From C to E is a third: C (1), D (2), E (3). From C to G, a fifth: C, D, E, F, G.
That is why there is no "interval zero": two identical notes are a unison, and from C to the next C is an octave (eight notes).
Intervals on the staff
On the staff you can see them without counting, by their shape:
- Second: a line and the space right next to it.
- Third: from a line to the next line, or from space to space.
- Fifth: line to line skipping one, or space to space skipping one.
- Octave: one on a line and the other in a space, far apart.
A useful rule: odd intervals (third, fifth, seventh) are both on lines or both in spaces. Even ones (second, fourth, sixth, octave) have one on a line and the other in a space.
Major, minor and perfect
The number says how many notes it spans, but not the exact distance. That is why every interval also has a quality, measured in semitones. C–E and C–E♭ are both thirds, but the first has 4 semitones (major) and the second 3 (minor).
The fourth, the fifth and the octave are different: they are not major or minor but perfect. They sound so stable that they are the pillars of harmony. The perfect fifth has 7 semitones and is the one that builds the circle of fifths.
A trick: if the bottom note is the tonic of a major scale, every interval up to the other notes of that scale is major or perfect. From C to any white key above: major second, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major sixth, major seventh.
Interval table
| Interval | Semitones | From C |
|---|---|---|
| Minor second | 1 | C – D♭ |
| Major second | 2 | C – D |
| Minor third | 3 | C – E♭ |
| Major third | 4 | C – E |
| Perfect fourth | 5 | C – F |
| Tritone (augmented fourth or diminished fifth) | 6 | C – F♯ / C – G♭ |
| Perfect fifth | 7 | C – G |
| Minor sixth | 8 | C – A♭ |
| Major sixth | 9 | C – A |
| Minor seventh | 10 | C – B♭ |
| Major seventh | 11 | C – B |
| Perfect octave | 12 | C – C |
This table explains chords: a major triad is a major third plus a minor third (4 + 3), and from bottom to top it adds up to 7, a perfect fifth.
Recognizing them by ear
A classic trick is to link each interval with the start of a tune you already know:
- Minor second: the first two different notes of Ode to Joy (E – E – F).
- Major second: Happy Birthday (G – G – A).
- Perfect fifth: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (C – C – G – G).
All three tunes are in the game's reading levels, to play along with a metronome.
Practice reading by leaps in the several-notes and sight-reading levels.
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