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|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals#Hot Cross Buns, Championship Editition|2nd Song}}
Two notes form an <u>'''interval</u>'''. This can describe either the distance between them (in terms of semitones), or the sound produced by playing them simultaneously or in sequence. '''Understanding intervals ''IS'' understanding harmony.''' Let's look at all the possible intervals.
=== All Intervals ===
There are 5 different types of intervals:
* <u>'''Augmented</u> ''' - One half-step larger than the corresponding major or perfect interval* <u>'''Major</u> ''' - The larger of the pair of 2nd 3rd, 6th, or 7th intervals* <u>'''Perfect</u> ''' - The harmonious 4th and 5th intervals near halfway between root and octave* <u>'''Minor</u> ''' - The smaller of the pair of 2nd 3rd, 6th, or 7th intervals* <u>'''Diminished</u> ''' - One half-step smaller than the corresponding major or perfect interval
The lower-pitched of the two notes is referred to as the <u>'''root note</u>'''. You'll notice the 4th and 5th intervals have the most harmonious ratios and reside near halfway between the root note and its octave. The tritone in the direct center is actually less harmonious than the neighboring 4th/5th. In the common major/minor scales, it appears in place of a 4th or 5th, so it is often regarded as a4/d5 rather than the tritone. The other numbered intervals come in pairs of major and minor, with the minor nearer the root and major further. Think minor = smaller and major = larger in terms of the distance between the component pitches.
Sometimes you may see interval names not listed above, like A6 (augmented 6th) or d7 (diminished 7th). Augmented simply means raised a half-step above a major or perfect interval and diminished means lowered a half-step below a minor or perfect interval. So an A6 is really the same interval as a m7, and a d7 is the same as a M6. The reason the alternate names are occasionally used is that the interval names are sometimes required to fulfill the practice of naming the intervals in a scale while using 2-7 once each, for more exotic scales. Also, interval names imply harmonic function - the alternate names suggest a different function from how such intervals usually act.
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 <u>'''diatonic</u> ''' (member) 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.
|1st and 2nd Strings - Intervals#Intervals Above vs. Intervals Below and Inversions|Inversions}}
One last thing about intervals - intervals refer to distance between two pitches. However, we regard the octave of notes as harmonically equivalent. If increase or reduce both the notes of an interval by one octave, it does not change distance at all. However, if you increase the lower note by one octave such that it now the higher note, or lower the higher note one octave, you still have the same notes but a different amount of distance and thus a different interval. This is called an <u>'''inversion</u>'''.
For example, G is 7 semitones above C, making it a Perfect 5th ''above'' C. However, it is only 5 semitones below C, making it a perfect 4th ''below'' C. Similarly, a G is a perfect 5th above C, but a C is only a perfect 4th above G.