What is an interval?
The distance between two notes, measured in pitch and, depending on context, in harmonic relationship.
Essential
Content under musical review. It may contain inaccuracies.
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The distance between two notes, measured in pitch and, depending on context, in harmonic relationship.
Essential
An interval is the distance between two notes. You can hear it as a leap (one note after another) or as a combined sound (both at once). On the guitar each fret is a semitone, so counting frets means counting semitones.
First one note, then another (a melodic interval), then both together (a harmonic interval):
Compare it with a smaller distance:
On the fretboard, the perfect fifth from C always makes the same shape as long as you don't cross the second string:
String 6, Fret 3: G2 · 5 · Fifth
Pick a starting note and an interval. Listen to how the feeling changes as the distance grows:
Intervals are the raw material of everything else:
Every interval has a number (second, third, fourth…) and a quality (major, minor, perfect, augmented or diminished). The number counts letter names: from C to E is a third because we pass C, D and E.
| Semitones | Interval | Example from C |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | minor second | D♭ |
| 2 | major second | D |
| 3 | minor third | E♭ |
| 4 | major third | E |
| 5 | perfect fourth | F |
| 7 | perfect fifth | G |
| 12 | octave | C |
On one string, count frets: five frets are a perfect fourth and seven a perfect fifth. Between neighbouring strings tuned in fourths, the same fret is a perfect fourth higher; between the third and second strings the distance is a major third, which is why shapes shift by one fret when they cross it.
Ear & improvisationFind the noteHear a note and find it on the guitar without looking.F♯ and G♭ sound the same, but from C to F♯ is an augmented fourth and from C to G♭ a diminished fifth. The name depends on function: in G major, F sharp is the leading tone; in D flat major, G flat is the fourth. That's why Guitar Trip always keeps each note's correct spelling.
Intervals larger than an octave are compound: a ninth is a second plus an octave, and chords use them to describe tensions (9, 11, 13).