Music Intervals - Theory Introduction for Guitar
Remember:A major scale is a pattern of eight notes in alphabetical order that produce the familiar sound:
| Do | Re | Mi | Fa | So | La | Ti | Do |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
The starting note (Do) is also called the Root note (1).
Each one of those notes is referred to as an interval. An interval is actually the distance from the root note or (1) to another note.
| C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Remember:
The distance of two frets is called a whole step or a tone.
The distance of one fret is called a half step or a semi-tone.
Lets look at the C Major Scale for an example.
W |
W |
H |
W |
W |
W |
H |
|
| Do | Re | Mi | Fa | So | La | Ti | Do |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 - 1 |
When talking about intervals there are three that are constant. They do not change whether the scale is major or minor. They are referred to as “perfect”, say a “perfect fifth” for example.
These intervals are:
The Octave
The Perfect Fifth
The Perfect Fourth
Example:
| Key of C major | Key of C minor | ||
| Octave | C | Octave | C |
| Fourth | F | Fourth | F |
| Fifth | G | Fifth | G |
Key of C Major
C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
Key of C Minor
C - D - E flat - F - G - A flat - B flat - C
