Intervals Music And How To Learn Them Quickly

Learning how to name intervals in music has many students in a state of frustration.

Intervals range from the very simple inside major scales, to the more complicated when we deal with chromatic notes and to the seemingly near impossible to work out, when double sharps and flats come into play. To be able to name intervals you need to understand half-tones (semi-tones, half steps) and whole tones, because the distance between 2 notes is counted in 1/2 steps. It is also very helpful to know the circle of 5ths diagram.

Interval names consist of a number (second, fourth etc.) and a modifier (unison, minor, major, perfect, diminished, augmented & octave).

Finding the number is easy in most cases, working out the modifier can get a bit more tricky.

Let's start with the easy ones:

The 8 Simple Diatonic Intervals:

The are measured in every key from the tonic (root note) to the other 7 notes in each scale.

Ex: key of C:

C - C = Perfect Unison (0 semi-tones)

C - D = Major Second (2 half-tones)

C - E = Major Third (4 semi-tones)

C - F = Perfect Fourth (5 1/2 steps)

C - G = Perfect Fifth (7 semi-tones)

C - A = Major Sixth (9 half-tones)

C - B = Major Seventh (11 semi-tones)

C - C = Perfect Octave (12 1/2 steps

No matter what key you're in, unisons, fourths, fifths and octaves are always Perfect and seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths are always Major. So far, so good.

Now, of course there are other intervals possible in every major key, 48 in fact, between any major scale note and every other major scale note. Here is where the other modifiers come into play.

We find out that:

Seconds can also be minor (ex: E - F & B - C) (1 semi-tone)

Thirds can also be minor (ex: D - F, E - G, A - C & B - D) (3 semi-tones)

Fourths can be Augmented (ex: F - B) (6 half-tones)

Fifths can be Diminished (ex: B - F) (also 6 semi-tones)

Sixths can be Minor (ex: E - C, A - F & B - G) (8 1/2 steps)

Sevenths can be Minor (ex: D - C, E - D, G - F, A - G & B - A) (10 half-tones)

We can sum up that inside each major scale, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th intervals are MAJOR or MINOR, while unison, 4th, 5th & octave intervals are PERFECT, AUGMENTED (+ 1/2 step) or DIMINISHED (- 1/2 step).

Thankfully the art of how to name any interval does not get much more complicated than discussed so far. We already know the numbers and possible modifiers but when it comes to the countless chromatic interval possibilities there is one extra dimension we have to cope with:

2nds, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths can also be Diminished or Augmented. That's it!

All that remains is to summarise:

Unison, Fourth, Fifth and Octave Intervals are either Perfect, Diminished or Augmented.Second, Third, Sixth and Seventh Intervals can be Major or Minor and also Diminished or Augmented.

For intervals that are wider than an octave, the rules are simple: Treat ninths like you would a second, tenths like thirds, elevenths like fourths etc.

By far the quickest way to learn the name of intervals is to become really familiar with the major scales and their modes and have the circle of fifths explained thoroughly.

Much more free in depth information on intervals with images, an easy "how to name any interval" formula and "The Ultimate Intervals Finder" (a downloadable pdf file) plus a circle of 5ths chart and explanations on all major scales can be found at: http://www.eartraining-online.com/diatonic-intervals.html

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