Intervals & Tonal Degree Names - Part 1: Description & Major Intervals

*This will be broken up into 5 tasks since it is so long*

Last class we talked a bit about intervals. Only in the sense of half steps and whole steps. Which are indeed a type of intervals but this time we will be talking way more about different types of intervals.

An interval can be defined as: The distance from one note to another. Not the distance between the two notes, that is a little different. So an example of an interval could be from the note C- the note G, or from the note C to the note C#. Etc…

All intervals can be played simultaneously or broken up/broken apart/one after another.

There are five main types of intervals.

There are perfect intervals, major intervals, minor intervals, augmented intervals, and diminished intervals. Now these names may not make sense to you but throughout this entire class these words will begin to make more sense and you will see how it is all connected.

So since an interval is between two notes there are massive amounts of intervals so I will do my best to name all of the most commonly used/practical intervals that you will likely see if you pursue music and that you will use!

First let us go over these terms.

Perfect interval: “Perfect intervals are so-called because they were traditionally considered perfectly consonant.”-Wikipedia. I also believe them to be perfect because if you flip these intervals they are the exact opposite as one another as you will see.

Major Interval: I like to define a major interval as being from the major scale. The notes that form naturally inside of the major scale other than the ones that occur perfectly. I will post all examples after these definitions.

Minor interval: A minor interval is any major interval that is lowered down by a half step. *Flattened*(Even though you don’t always attach a flat when flattening/lowering something by a half step)

Augmented Interval: An augmented interval is any major or perfect interval that you raise by a half step. *Sharpened* (Even though you don’t always attach a sharp when sharpening/raising something by a half step)

Diminished Interval: A diminished interval is any minor or perfect interval that you lower by a half step. *Flattened* (Even though you don’t always attach a flat when flattening/lowering something by a half step)

We will only be covering ascending intervals, which go up/forward not descending intervals. Descending ones are very similar, and sometimes confusing. I might post a whole other task talking about descending intervals; maybe I will take it in a vote!

Ok since an interval can be between any type of notes the main ones we will be using are unisons, 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths, and 8ths(octaves).

So first the major intervals. There is a major 2^nd, a major 3^rd, a major 6^th, and a major 7^th.

(I cannot add the natural sign, so in place I will add nothing to the letter. When seeing just a letter take it as a natural.)

Here are all major 2nds:

· A-B

· A#-B#

· Ab-Bb

· B-C#

· B#-Cx

· Bb-C

· Bbb-Cb

· C-D

· C#-D#

· Cb-Db

· D-E

· D#-E#

· Db-Eb

· E-F#

· E#-Fx

· Eb-F

· Ebb-Fb

· F-G

· F#-G#

· Fb-Gb

· G-A

· G#-A#

· Gb-Ab

These are all whole steps and the 2^nd degree in all major scales.

Here are all major 3rds.

· A-C#

· A#-Cx

· Ab-C

· B-D#

· B#-Dx

· Bb-D

· C-E

· C#-E#

· Cb-Eb

· D-F#

· D#-Fx

· Db-F

· E-G#

· E#-Gx

· Eb-G

· F-A

· F#-A#

· Fb-Ab

· G-B

· G#-B#

· Gb-Bb

These are all the 2^nd note, middle note, in a chord, or 2 whole steps away. They are also the 3^rd scale degree in all major scales

Here are all the major 6ths.

· A-F#

· A#-Fx

· Ab-F

· B-G#

· B#-Gx

· Bb-G

· C-A

· C#-A#

· Cb-Ab

· D-B

· D#-B#

· Db-Bb

· E-C#

· E#-Cx

· Eb-C

· F-D

· F#-D#

· Fb-Db

· G-E

· G#-E#

· Gb-Eb

These are all the 6^th degree in the major scales. They are also 4 whole steps and one half step away.

Last but not least the major 7^th.

· A-G#

· A#-Gx

· Ab-G

· B-A#

· B#-Ax

· Bb-A

· C-B

· C#-B#

· Cb-Bb

· D-C#

· D#-Cx

· Db-C

· E-D#

· E#-Dx

· Eb-D

· F-E

· F#-E#

· Fb-Eb

· G-F#

· G#-Fx

· Gb-F

These are all the 7^th scale degree in major scales. They are also a half step below the corresponding octave and finally they are 5 whole steps and a half step away.

Here are 4 pictures, the 1st showing all major 2nds on treble and bass clef played one after another in each measure using half notes.

The 2nd showing all major 3rds on treble and bass clef played one after another in each measure using half notes.

The 3rd showing all major 6ths on treble and bass clef played one after another in each measure using half notes.

The 4th showing all major 7ths on treble and bass clef played one after another in each measure using half notes.