No pressure, but this is very important. This is also not difficult to understand and will follow you your whole life.
Intervals just mean the distance between notes – so far, we expressed it with half-step and whole-steps or frets, and all those concepts are still valid: steps as a generic musical term, frets when you talk to other guitarists, but the most universal way to refer to the distance between notes is intervals.
Every interval is defined by a number, representing the distance, and a letter for the quality (i.e. Major, minor, perfect, augmented, diminished)
- R is the “root” (or P1: Perfect Unison)
- m2: minor 2nd
- M2: major 2nd
- A2: Augmented 2nd / m3: minor 3rd
- M3: major 3rd
- P4: perfect 4th
- A4: Augmented 4th / D5: minor 5th
- P5: perfect 5th
- A5: Augmented 5th / m6: minor 6th
- M6: major 6th:
- m7: minor 7th
- M7: major 7th
- P8: perfect octave
TIME-OUT! What is the point of intervals??? Notes already have a name, sometimes 2 names even so why would you add another one?
Great question: Intervals are not the note, but really the distance between notes. That’s an important distinction, because it places a single note in a context of others. More than a name and they have an identity and a role.
In other words, intervals name the relationships between notes.
Let’s pick a random note: C#
– first off, it’s a C# and consequently the root of every C# scale
– it’s also the 3rd of the A major scale
– the (minor) 3rd of every A# minor scales
– the 7th of the D major scale
– the 5th of the F# major scale
– etc.You see? one note but multiple identities.
Intervals are a tool you need if you want to analyze, understand and communicate about music.
Intervals for major scales:
Major scales follow that structure: R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7
Let’s try to identify the notes for the A major scale:
- R = A
- M2 = B
- M3 = C#
- P4 = D
- P5 = E
- M6 = F#
- M7 = G#
Now you might understand why one note can have several names. The 3rd of A will ALWAYS be C; count to 3 starting at A: 1 -> A , 2 -> B, 3 ->… C! the 3rd is a C – C# and Db might be the same note, but if you want to refer to the major 3rd of A, it will always be C#.
A, B, C,… D the 4th is a D. etc. Always.
B major scale? We keep the same intervals and rotate one whole-step (i.e. the distance between A and B) in our circle to position B as the root:
B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#
Easy one, the C major scale: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do!
C, D, E, F, G, A, B – remember, a whole-step between each note, but between E and F (3rd and 4th), and between B and C (7th and octave).
We won’t go over all the scales, but that’s a good exercise for you to find the notes for the other major scales on your own. (G is also an easy one 😉 )
Intervals and (natural) minor scale:
The structure of the natural minor scale is: R, M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, m7
You notice ‘natural’ mentioned everywhere for the minor scale – this is because there are in reality 3 different minor scales: natural, harmonic, melodic. Let’s not go there for now, but I thought you might wonder!
A minor scale: A – B – C – D – E – F – G
Note: the A minor scale has exactly the same notes as the C major scale – they sound the same, and without a context, you wouldn’t care about their differences, but it will once there is one e.g. a bass line playing in the A key.
B minor scale: B – C# – D – E – F# – G – A
The same exercise with minor scales: take your notebook and find all the notes. If you like it, try those as well:
- harmonic minor scale: R, M2, m3, P4, P5, m6, M7
- melodic minor scale: R, M2, m3, P4, P5, M6, M7
Summary of the lesson: Intervals
What did you learn?
You learned a new tool, a universal naming convention to identify notes in a context rather than just by name. With enough practice, you’ll be able to recognize a third or a fifth when you hear it.
Why is it important?
It’s something that will follow you each step of your guitar life. That will help you to analyze and understand better what happens under your fingers and in your ears.