The musical intervals

If there is an element or concept from which we can explain most of the music we listen to every day, it is musical intervals.

A musical interval From these minimal pieces, combining them in different ways, sometimes altering them, or accumulating one with another, for example, we build musical scales, chords and all the structures of larger songs and music, such as musical forms or genres and styles of all eras. The musical interval is the distance between two sounds, between two notes, with which we can form scales, melodies and chords. This would be a basic explanation but we are going to see some concepts directly related to intervals and music in general.

The eighth

Since ancient times, the study of sounds has led to finding special relationships between the different frequencies that the human ear can hear. The most important discovery, probably, was what we call octave.

In Western culture, Pythagoras in classical Greece already perceived the consonance between sounds with frequencies twice and half as fast as each other. In this way, the sound that could be measured as a vibrational frequency of 440 cycles per second was perfectly consonant with both 880 and 220 cycles per second or hertz (Hz). For this reason, these three frequencies received the same name that, with the current standard tuning system, we call A. Yes, our dear note La. Some lower and others higher, but all an A. Similarly, a middle C of the current piano corresponds to a frequency of 261.63 and both 130.81 Hz and its divisions by 2, as well as 523.25 Hz and its multiplications by 2 will also be notes that we call C.

The fifths

Once that sound space that we call octave was established and that is repeated throughout the entire spectrum, we continued looking for other related sounds that sounded good at the same time. And they found what we know by the name of the fifth.

A fifth pure sounds when we only let 2/3 of the length of a string vibrate. At that moment we will hear a sound different from that of the string with its full length, but a very compatible, very pleasant sound, what we call a consonant. That proportional distance that we call fifth is the reference with which the rest of the notes that we use today to compose the vast majority of music will be found.

The semitones

Finally, with the passage of centuries and the improvement of musical instruments, the different tuning options and the majority use of the tonal system to organize musical sounds, a compromise was reached that was called equal tuning. This tuning system, also called equal temperament, simply divided the octave into 12 mathematically identical segments and marked the exact place of each note. Our beloved twelve musical notes. Each of these spaces or distances between consecutive notes was called semitone.

Halftones

What is a musical interval?

A musical interval is the distance between two notes. That is, they are not the notes themselves, nor their sound frequency, but the number of semitones between them. In most of the music theory taught in books and schools, intervals are given specific names to adapt to the tonality, to that entire musical system that derives from the major scale that the entire Western world has known since childhood.

Interval pattern of the Major scale Let's remember that this affects any musical sound. What a piano plays, a guitar, what sounds in a beat or what we sing with our voice are notes, sound frequencies, and the relationships between them, the distances in particular, are the intervals. In summary. Approach chromatic: 1 octave = 6 tones = 12 semitones = 12 notes Focus diatonic: 1 octave = 7 notes, chosen from those 12.

Types of intervals

So, if we have twelve notes, we will have twelve different intervals, twelve distances to take into account. Let's see them. Starting from any first note, our famous C, for example, we find the following: From the first to the second note, from C to C# (sharp) there is 1 semitone, an interval of minor second.From the second to the third, from C# to D, there is also 1 semitone, the same as between all consecutive notes. And if we count from the first note to the third, from C to D, we see that there are two semitones, an interval of Second Major.From C to Eb, or E flat, there are 3 semitones, an interval of minor thirdFrom C to E there are 4 semitones, or 2 tones, an interval of Third MajorFrom C to F there are 5 semitones, or 2 and a half tones. A fair fourth.From C to F#, or F sharp or G flat, there are 6 semitones, the famous Tritone, called augmented fourth either diminished fifthaccording to the harmonic context. From C to G, there are 7 semitones, or 3 and a half tones, our friend fair fifth.From C to G# or Lab, there are 8 semitones, or 4 tones, that is, one minor sixthFrom C to A there are 9 semitones, or 4 and a half tones, one Major sixth.From C to A# or SIb, there are 10 semitones, 5 tones that we call minor seventh.From C to If we have 11 semitones, or 5 and a half tones, a Major seventh.And finally, from C to the next C, we find the 12 semitones, 6 tones that we already know: a octave.

Two intervals If we follow the tradition of choosing the best-known scale, that of C Major, the famous do re mi fa sol la si do, which corresponds to the white keys of a piano, we will have seven of those localized notes, but only seven. The also called diatonic scale. The other five intervals have been commonly used, although with less prominence, and have been, let's say, eclipsed by the generalized use of that tonal structure.

Melodic and harmonic intervals

As we mentioned above, musical intervals appear everywhere if we analyze any piece. When we look at the distances between each note in a melody, we will talk about melodic intervals and if we are analyzing the notes of a chord or the relationship of the melody with a certain harmonization, for example, we will refer to them as harmonic intervals. In reality, they are different perspectives of the same thing. Melody is usually associated with the horizontal movement of music and harmony with the vertical constructions of notes that occur in musical works.

Two harmonic intervals In both cases, an attempt is made to understand the sound effect that results from the different combinations of melodic and harmonic intervals. Understand it to better interpret songs or instrumental works and also to use them with more security and sense when we are composing our own music, looking for the right chord for a given passage or writing songs.

Intervals and scales

Intervals help us, for example, to better understand different musical scales, those defined patterns of distances between notes. In fact, each of these interval patterns is actually what we call a musical scale, which gives it its characteristics and possibilities or, in short, its particular sound.

Conclusions

Intervals explain the different sensations we have when listening to melodies, chords, songs and music. These relationships between musical notes define how they are going to sound, what they can transmit, and help us understand the overall sound of a song, for example. Just two notes separated by a dissonant interval can provoke interest, mystery, and even pain. And the consonant notes, when they sound at the same time or consecutively, will surely provide us with a calmer and more stable sound stage. Knowing the intervals and their sound, in short, will help us understand music and create it, to have more clarity as composers, to resolve doubts in the creative process and to make better decisions in it. Give them a little attention. Listen to them. It has a lot to offer you. Keep them in mind and use them. It's time to make a song. #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_column_with_background { padding: 10px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:not(:first-child) { margin-left: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph { line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_segment_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_radio_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_list_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_label { display: block; font-weight: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_month, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_day, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_year, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date { display: block; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea { width: 200px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_submit { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_divider { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading { width: 30px; text-align: center; line-height: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading > span { width: 5px; height: 5px; background-color: #5b5b5b; }#mailpoet_form_3{border: 1px solid #fcb900;border-radius: 40px;text-align: center;}#mailpoet_form_3 form.mailpoet_form {padding: 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3{width: 70%;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message {margin : 0; padding: 0 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph.last {margin-bottom: 0} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 {background-image: none;}} @media (min-width: 500px) { #mailpoet_form_3 .last .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:last-child .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} Please leave this field emptyDo you write songs or would you like to?

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