Intervals

You should think of intervals as the pitch relationship between two notes. You may visualize them as the space or distance between notes. You should always use the staff to help visualize intervals. The staff is invaluable in this particular application. Intervals are named by the number of notes with different letter names that they hold.

Perfect, Major, And Minor

Perfect – All intervals that include the tonic and the fourth and fifth scale degrees of a major scale are called perfect. That gives perfect 4th and perfect 5th. Unison(same notes) intervals and octaves are also perfect.

Major – Intervals between the tonic and the second, third, sixth, and seventh scale degrees are major intervals. 

Minor – Minor intervals can be built by taking any major interval and making it one-half step smaller.

Augmented And Diminished intervals

Augmented – To make an augmented interval you must take a perfect or major interval and make them one-half step larger.

Diminished – To make an augmented interval you must take a perfect or minor interval and make them one-half step smaller.

Enharmonic Intervals

Enharmonic intervals are similar to enharmonic notes in that they have the same sound but they are written differently on paper. The most common enharmonic intervals are the augmented fourth and the diminished fifth.

Inverted Intervals

When we invert an interval the two notes swap places. This means that the lower note becomes the highest note or the higher note becomes the lower note.

Compound Intervals and Simple Intervals

Simple Interval – simple intervals exist within one octave. They are not larger than one octave.

Compound Interval – compound intervals are larger than one octave. They may span two octaves or more.

Melodic and Harmonic Intervals

Melodic Intervals – melodic intervals are played in succession as a melody is. 

Harmonic Intervals – harmonic intervals are played simultaneously the way a chord is played.