Intervals are the space or distance between 2 notes according to what note it is on the scale, or scale degree. This lesson will cover all of the intervals in relation to the guitar, and how to identify them. This article is for people who know a basic knowledge of what intervals are but want to learn further of how to identify them in writing and playing, so you can help learn songs by listening to them.
The Intervals Chromatically
0 - Unison
1 - Minor Second/Augmented Unison
2 - Major Second/Diminished Third
3 - Minor Third/Augmented Second
4 - Major Third/Diminished Fourth
5 - Perfect Fourth/Augmented Third
6 - Augmented Fourth/Diminished Fifth
7 - Perfect Fifth(Power Chord)/Diminished 6th
8 - Minor Sixth/Augmented 5th
9 - Major 6th/Diminished Seventh
10 - Minor Seventh/Augmented 6th
11 - Major Seventh/Diminished Octave
12 - Octave
Broken Down. Notice the Unison, Fourth, Fifth, and Octave are not Major nor Minor, but Perfect.
Major Scale:
Diminished
First-< Perfect
Augmented
Diminished
Minor
Second-< Major
Augmented
Diminished
Minor
Third-< Major
Augmented
Diminished
Fourth-< Perfect
Augmented
Diminished
Fifth-< Perfect
Augmented
Diminished
Minor
Sixth-< Major
Augmented
Diminished
Minor
Seventh-< Major
Augmented
Diminished
Octave-< Perfect
Augmented
Unison - A unison is the same note as the root note, simple as that, can't get any more basic than that.
There is no easy way of identifying this interval, its just 2 consecutive notes.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|--------------|
B|--------------|
G|--------------|
D|--------------|
A|---0--OR------|
E|---5------5-5-|
Minor Second/Augmented Unison - abbreviated m2, is a half step up from the root. A good way to identify this interval is the part in Jaws... da dun... da dun... etc. Or you can come up with something else that has a minor second interval to help you identify it.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|--------------|
B|--------------|
G|--------------|
D|--------------|
A|---1--OR------|
E|---5------5-6-|
Major Second/Diminished Third - abbreviated M2, is a whole step up from the root, or the 2nd note of the scale. Can be identified by the 2nd and 3rd note of Happy Birthday.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|--------------|
B|--------------|
G|--------------|
D|--------------|
A|---2--OR------|
E|---5------5-7-|
Minor Third/Augmented Second - abbreviated m3, is a whole step and a half step from the root note. This note is what identifies a minor scale. Meaning if you see this interval, 95% of the time you are playing in a minor key. An example of a Minor Third are the first 2 notes of Iron Man, or Smoke on the Water.
6th String Root (root as A)
e--------------|
B--------------|
G--------------|
D--------------|
A---3--OR------|
E---5------5-8-|
Major Third/Diminished Fourth - abbreviated M3, is 2 whole steps from the root note. This interval identifies a Major Scale, meaning if you see this interval, 95% of the time your playing in a minor key. An example of a Major Third are the 3rd and 4th notes of the Star Spangled Banner.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|--------------|
B|--------------|
G|--------------|
D|--------------|
A|---4--OR------|
E|---5------5-9-|
Perfect Fourth/Augmented Third - abbreviated P4, is 2 whole steps and a half step from the root note. The Fourth is a semi-tone up from the Major Third. When substituting the Fourth for a Third in a major chord, the chord becomes a sus4 chord (think of the Open D Major chord xx0232 and the Open Dsus4 chord xx0233). Fourths are also adjacent notes on the E-G strings while acsending. A good way to recognize a Perfect Fourth interval is the "Here Comes the Bride" song.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---------------|
A|---5--OR-------|
E|---5------5-10-|
Diminished Fifth/Augmented Fourth - abbreviated є5, also called a Tri-tone, is halfway between the root note and the octave, or 6 half steps or 3 whole steps. The diminished fifth is a very dissonant sounding interval. The diminished fifth can be used as a quick leading tone to the perfect fifth, a half step higher. This interval is used to make a diminished chord. There really isn't a great way that I know of to recognize this interval except the song from Westside Story, Maria. Ma(p1)-ri(є5)-a(p5). (try it yourself).
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---------------|
A|---6--OR-------|
E|---5------5-11-|
Perfect Fifth/Power Chord/Diminished 6th - or P5, is the most widely used interval in Rock 'n' Roll. It is 3 whole steps and a half steps away from the root note. This is your basic power chord interval. It is a very solid sounding interval when played along with the root. The fifth is also part of any major or minor triad, which consists of the Root, the Major or Minor third, and the Perfect Fifth. The way can recognize a perfect Fifth interval is the Star Wars Theme song. I have a friend who recognizes this interval by the song by Usher, "Yeah".
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---------------|
A|---7--OR-------|
E|---5------5-12-|
Minor Sixth/Fifth - or a m6, is 4 wholesteps from the root note. This is also very dissonant sounding. There isn't much to say about this interval except for it is good as a descending leading down, going down a step. I really can't think of a good way to recognize this interval. Sorry :/
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---------------|
A|---8--OR-------|
E|---5------5-13-|
Major Sixth/Diminished Seventh - or a M6, is 3 half steps below the octave. This interval when played as a chord sounds good in an acoustic type setting. An easy way to recognize this is the little NBC jingle when they are about to show weather. If you don't know what I'm talking about, or you don't live in the US, then try playing the D string, then the B string, then the G string about a second apart from each other. The D and B are a Major Sixth interval.
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---4-----------|
A|-----OR---9----|
E|---5------5----|
Minor Seventh/Augmented sixth - or an m7, is one of the most important intervals of JAZZ. This is a flat seventh which is a whole step below the octave, which makes a chord dominant. A Major chord, when added with this Flat Seven, becomes dominant and sounds jazzy and slightly dissonant. The V chord in all keys is dominant like this, and when moving to the Tonic chord becomes a Cadence, or a resolving progression (sorry if this confuses you, I don't expect people reading this article to fully understand everything I say). I don't really have a good way to remember this either, but can be identified just by knowing the sound the interval makes.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---5-----------|
A|-----OR---10---|
E|---5------5----|
Major Seventh/Diminished Octave - or an M7, is the leading tone to the octave, meaning it is a half step below. The leading tone quality of this interval is nice because it can make a Harmonic Minor scale by making the minor 7 into this major 7. It just has good resolving qualities. This one is easy to hear because it is just dissonant to hear it is right next to the octave.
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---6-----------|
A|-----OR---11---|
E|---5------5----|
Octave/Augmented Seventh - or a P8, is just the octave higher than the root note, that simple. The only example I can think of right now is Over The Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz, but it doesn't take a maestro to identify this interval :D
6th String Root (root as A)
e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---7-----------|
A|-----OR---12---|
E|---5------5----|
Compound Intervals
Compound intervals are intervals that exceed the octave, but they go by the same order and number and can be heard the same.
Unison - 8
Second - Ninth
Third - Tenth
Fourth - Eleventh
Fifth - Twelfth
Sixth - Thirteenth
Seventh- Fourteenth
Octave - Fifteenth
This is a very indepth introduction to intervals that should not only help as a guitar player, but a musician as well. Try to use these and identify intervals in songs your listening to on a CD or Radio. It helps a lot. And remember, the examples I used in this article might not be the best way for you to identify intervals, try to find an example of a good song of yours that you can keep in your head. I tried to be very non-genre favored in this article, trying to use more standard songs in examples.
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