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guitar intervals explained

3,373 views · Published 14 March 2016 · 6:06 · Indexed 31 October 2026

Channel: New Secret Guitar Teacher · 2016 · Music

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Musical intervals explained. Intervals on the guitar. Learn to understand intervals. How to name musical intervals.

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Video script:

In the last sound bite we looked at the reason behind why the Unison, 4th, 5th and Octave Intervals are referred to as perfect. The remaining intervals - the second, third, sixth and seventh are most often referred to either as MAJOR or MINOR.

To decide which, we need to refer to the Major scale. If you have studied a little music theory you will know that to create a Major Scale we choose a note as key or tonic...We'll choose F again as we did in the last lesson...And then we find the other notes of the scale by applying the Major Scale Formula. 

This is expressed in terms of tones and semitones, or in North America Whole Steps and Half steps. A Tone or Whole step is two steps on the chromatic scale...Represented by two frets on the guitar and a semitone, or half step is one step on the chromatic scale, or one fret on the guitar. And the Major Scale Formula is : TTSTTTS or WWHWWWH.

So from the F note here  I go up a tone tone semitone tone tone tone semitone...giving me the notes F G A Bb C D E and F.

Now we can label the intervals. Perfect unison ...F to F  perfect fourth... F to Bb perfect fifth... F to C  and perfect octave... F to F .Those are all the perfect intervals we described in the last lesson. Now let's fill in the gaps.

Major Second F to G  Major Third F to A  Major Sixth F to D  and Major Seventh F to E 

So, other than our perfect intervals, the intervals from the tonic to all the other member notes of the major scale are described as major. Once you have got that far, the rest is relatively easy.

To name any interval that includes a non-diatonic note - that means one from outside the major scale - you simply apply the following rules.

Major or Perfect Intervals raised by a semitone become augmented. Major intervals lowered by a semitone become Minor and similarly Minor intervals raised by a semitone become Major. Minor or or Perfect intervals lowered by a semitone become diminished.

So that's pretty much all there is to naming intervals.

Just remember that interval names must have two parts -  a quality designation which will be either Perfect, Major, Minor, Augmented or Diminished.... And a number part that always depends on the letter names used.

If you'd like to test your grasp of these two lessons on Interval naming, then have a go at this little multiple-choice test. You can give me your answers in a comment, or email them to via the Help and Support section of the Secret Guitar Teacher site and I'll be happy to look them over for you.

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