A guide to labelling melodic and harmonic intervals.
What do measuring lasers, measuring wheels, measuring tape and intervals have in common? Measuring… obviously. Intervals are used to measure distances between notes. Each of these distances has a name that contains: 1) a word (major, minor, perfect, augmented, diminished) and 2) a number from 1-8, for example: Minor 6th.
To measure this distance (interval), we need a starting point (note) and an ending point (another note). Let us use the note C as our starting point, and name the intervals found in the C major scale (read the previous article on intervals to find out what the C major scale is).
Here we have a C major scale with all interval distances labelled. We used C as our starting point, and we used each note in the scale as the ending note, creating eight distances or intervals. The interval from C to D is a Major 2nd, from C to E is a Major 3rd, from C to F is a perfect 4th, and so on. Notice that we have major intervals as well as some perfect ones. This collection of major and perfect intervals are what add up to make the major scale sound “Happy”.
Ok… Major=Happy I get it, but what is a perfect interval?
Well, the 4th, 5th, 8th (octave) and unisons (same note), are usually perfect. They have a special name because they change in a special way. Basically, if Major and Perfect intervals were Pokémon, they would each have a different number of evolutions. You do not have to worry about them for now, just remember that 4ths, 5ths and 8ths are perfect in all major scales.
Ok, so C Major and all other Major scales are made up of major and perfect intervals, AND these intervals are arranged in a specific order!! (Major, major, perfect, perfect, major, major, perfect). How does this help? Well, it is extremely important to memorize the notes found in all 12 major scales because identifying intervals is much quicker and easier if you are able to recognize whether an interval is major or perfect (essentially recognize if it is in the major scale), because then you can understand how the interval is different (the size of the interval) and name it accordingly. This is kind of like memorizing the multiplication table, it makes things easier and faster!
Now that we know the intervals in the C major scale, let us see the difference between a major and minor interval.
We discovered earlier that the interval C to E is a major 3rd, but what happens if we play C and Eb, to get that sad sound? Eb is not in C Major… so what interval is it? Remember from the previous article the terms half-step and whole step? Well, it is important to understand that from C to D is 2 half steps, and this distance creates the Major 2nd interval. From C to E we have 4 half-steps and this creates the Major 3rd interval. But, if we have 3 half steps for example, how do we name that? … well, we still call it a 3rd, but now it is a minor 3rd, because it is missing a half-step. But! The opposite is true too! We can think of this interval as two half steps with an extra half step, which means we can call it an augmented 2nd… forget about this part for now, because we will talk about this in the next article.
Let us check out the minor interval thinking process.
Eb is not in the C major scale. But it is related to E… it is very close. Actually, it is still the distance of a 3rd, just like C to E. But Eb is a bit lower, a half step lower. So what happens to a Major interval that is a half-step lower? It becomes MINOR! You can hear the difference in the sound. C to E is the “Happy” and C to Eb is the “Sad”.
The math:
Major - 1/2 step = minor
minor + ½ step = Major
FUN FACT…This is kind of crazy…if you play a minor 3rd instead of a major 3rd in the C Major scale, you actually get another scale called “Melodic Minor”. And because it is the pattern of intervals that defines the sound of a scale, switching the major 3rd for a minor 3rd (a.k.a changing the pattern of intervals), makes it melodic minor. Crazy. Just one note can change the whole vibe of a scale!
Back to it. Let us find the rest of the minor intervals starting on C.
So C to Db, Db is close to D, it is still a 2nd, but because it is half step lower it is a MINOR 2nd.
We already talked about C to Eb.
We skip C to F for now, because it is a 4th, and is perfect.
We skip C to G for now, because it is a 5th , and is perfect.
C to Ab, Ab is close to A, it is still a 6th, but because it is half step lower it is a MINOR 6th.
C to Bb, Bb is close to B, it is still a 7th, but because it is a half step lower it is a MINOR 7th.
Now that you know how to name intervals related to C and the C major scale, you need to apply the knowledge to the other 11 Major scales.
A quick review:
· Interval names- contain: 1) a word (major, minor, perfect, augmented, diminished) and 2) a number from 1-8
· Interval order in a major scale- major, major, perfect, perfect, major, major, perfect
· You should memorize the 12 major scales (easier to identify intervals)
· The interval math… Major - 1/2 step = minor
Stay tuned for part 3 on intervals, where we discuss the “evolution” of perfect intervals, enharmonic equivalents as well as notating and identifying intervals in written music.
If you have questions, send me an email!
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