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→All Intervals
* '''Diminished''' - One half-step smaller than the corresponding major or perfect interval
The lower-pitched of the two notes is referred to as the '''root note'''. 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 {{tt|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.
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 {{Mn7|A6 ]] (augmented 6th) or {{M6|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 {{Mn7|A6 }} is really the same interval as a {{Mn7|m7}}, and a {{M6|d7 }} is the same as a {{M6|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.
Let's play all of the different intervals: