Recognizing intervals by ear
A practical method to identify intervals by their character, by singing them and by relating them to the tonic.
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Content under musical review. It may contain inaccuracies.
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A practical method to identify intervals by their character, by singing them and by relating them to the tonic.
Applied
Recognizing intervals by ear means going from "that sounds good" to "that's a fourth". You don't need perfect pitch: it's about comparing two notes and learning the character of each distance. With regular practice, a few weeks are enough to tell the common ones apart.
Hear each pair twice: first apart, then together. Try to describe its character in one word before you read the label.
Seeing where each interval falls on the guitar helps it stick. As long as you don't cross the second string, every distance keeps its shape:
String 6, Fret 3: G2 · 4 · Scale tone
String 6, Fret 1: F2 · ♭7 · Scale tone
| Interval | Abbreviation | Semitones |
|---|---|---|
| unison | P1 (1) | 0 |
| minor second | m2 (♭2) | 1 |
| major second | M2 (2) | 2 |
| minor third | m3 (♭3) | 3 |
| major third | M3 (3) | 4 |
| perfect fourth | P4 (4) | 5 |
| augmented fourth (tritone) | A4 (♯4) | 6 |
| perfect fifth | P5 (5) | 7 |
| minor sixth | m6 (♭6) | 8 |
| major sixth | M6 (6) | 9 |
| minor seventh | m7 (♭7) | 10 |
| major seventh | M7 (7) | 11 |
| octave | P8 (8) | 12 |
The ear trainer plays random intervals. Start with just two or three very different options (major third, perfect fifth, octave) and add more once you get them right almost every time:
Open the interval trainerA method that works:
On the guitar the payoff is immediate: if you hear a melody rise a fourth, you know it's on the same fret of the next string (except between the third and second strings, where it moves up one fret).
Play a note, sing an interval above it and find it on the fretboard without looking at diagrams. Then flip it: a friend (or the trainer) plays two notes and you find them. That's the foundation of learning melodies by ear.
Ear & improvisationCall and responseHear a short phrase and repeat it by ear on the guitar.Descending intervals sound different from ascending ones, so train them separately. Harmonic intervals (both notes together) are easier to spot by their consonance or dissonance: seconds and sevenths "rub", thirds and sixths "blend", fourths and fifths sound "hollow".
For less common intervals, lean on their inversion: a minor seventh is a major second below the octave. If you recognize the octave and the second, you can work out the seventh.