Level 3 (like Grade 3) · Unit 12 of 24

Intervals

The distance between two notes: its number (2nd, 3rd …) and its kind (major, minor, perfect).

By the end you will be able to:

• count the number of an interval
• name major, minor and perfect intervals above a key note
• write a note a given interval above another

Learn

Counting the number

Count the letter names from the lower note to the upper note, counting both: C up to E is C-D-E, three letters, so it is a 3rd. C up to G is a 5th. The same letter an octave higher is an octave (an 8th). On the stave, a 3rd is line-to-line or space-to-space; a 2nd is line-to-space.

The kind of interval

From the key note of a major scale up to the notes of that scale, the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th are MAJOR, and the 4th, 5th and octave are PERFECT. Make a major interval one semitone smaller (without changing the letters) and it becomes MINOR: C–E is a major 3rd, C–E♭ is a minor 3rd.

Count the semitones

To check, count semitones: minor 2nd 1, major 2nd 2, minor 3rd 3, major 3rd 4, perfect 4th 5, perfect 5th 7, minor 6th 8, major 6th 9, minor 7th 10, major 7th 11, octave 12.

Your turn

Watch and listen, then practise with new questions every time – reading questions, and writing tasks you answer on the stave. Take the check when you are ready: 80% passes the unit.

Level 3 is like Grade 3 music theory. These are Classfern’s own levels, not an exam board’s. Questions are made and marked by rules in your browser.