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→Diatonic Intervals
|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals#Intervals Above vs. Intervals Below and Inversions|Inversions}}
When playing inside a certain scale or key, we may occasionally omit the major/minor descriptor and just say the interval number. For instance, I might ask you to play the 6th above C without qualifying whether it is a major 6th or minor 6th. Or I might say we're going to play a harmony line a 3rd above any given melody, which will more than likely include both major and minor 3rds.
As mentioned above, common scales only contain 1 interval for each of the numbers 2-7. This applies not only to the root note of the scale, but to each additional note that is <u>diatonic</u> to (or part ofmember) note in the scale. Each scale has its own set of diatonic intervals, just as it has diatonic notes. As mentioned earlier, intervals can describe the combined sound of two notes as well as the distance between two notes. In a scale, the root note forms a basis point from which we can describe other notes by their distance from it. For instance, I could say to play the note a M3 above root then the note a P5 above the root. Ironically, we can use intervals to determine other intervals. For instance, the interval between the M3 and P5 above the root note is a m3. |----M3 --0----4----7-- |---------P5 |----m3
Let's look at the intervals from two different perspectives inside the key of C Major: