Sizing Up Intervals
In This Chapter
- Turning Major Scale notes into degrees
- Defining and naming intervals
- Finding intervals on your fretboard
- Adjusting for the B string
- Playing octaves on the guitar
Sing or hum or even whistle the first two notes of “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Now try “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean,” “O Canada,” or “A Hard Day’s Night”—again, just the first two notes. Can you hear the differences between the first and second note of each example? The first two might seem easier, or at least more distinct, than the second two.
What you’ve just done is demonstrated what a musical interval is. And you’re about to discover how to take what you hear in your head and transfer it directly to your fingers along your guitar’s fretboard.
Being able to identify an interval is the foundation of ear training, which will allow you to be able to play music on your guitar that you’ve only heard once or twice. This is a huge step forward because you’re going to start relying more on your ears and less on your eyes for musical information.
Ear training is a lifelong process, but learning about intervals and how they are played on your guitar will help you hit the ground running.
Giving Degrees to the Major Scale
In order to learn and work with intervals, we have to give them names so that we can be on the same page when discussing them. And this is where things can begin to get a little weird. In both music theory and guitar theory, three things are used to describe multiple subjects: letters, numbers, and the terms “major” and “minor.”
You’re already used to the multiple uses of letters because you know about both notes and chords. When asked to play “C,” for example, you really don’t know if you’re meant to play the single note (and, if so, which of the many C notes available to you on the guitar) or a C chord.
In music theory and guitar theory, numbers can be used very much in the same way because they are, in essence, generic stand-ins for both notes and chords. In the Major Scale, each note is assigned a number that indicates the note’s degree of the scale. Using the C Major Scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, and B) as an example, here are how the degrees of a scale are lined out:
You can see that this is very simple and direct. The first note of the scale is the root note, and all the others are given a numeric degree in accordance with their ordered place in the Major Scale.
Turning Degrees into Intervals
An interval is the musical distance between one note and another, measured in musical steps and/or half-steps. They are given two-part names, such as “major second,” “perfect fourth,” or “minor sixth.”
As you might have guessed, the second half of the name is a scale degree. The first name is usually either “major” or “minor.” “Major,” when discussing intervals, refers to a scale degree sharing the same qualities as a degree of the Major Scale. “Minor” intervals are always one musical half-step lower than their Major Scale counterparts. For instance, the distance between C and A is the interval of a major sixth. Going from C to A
is the interval of a minor sixth. Whenever someone refers to an interval without saying “major” or “minor” (with the exception of the fourth and fifth, which we’ll discuss shortly), the assumption is that it’s a major interval.
Finding Intervals on Your Fretboard
Being able to recognize intervals is, of course, just the first step. Your ability to move from one single note to another is simply playing an interval of some sort. Here are some fretboard maps to help you know exactly where the interval of any note happens to be. But before you jump ahead, there’s one more thing to know.
Beware the B String
It’s important to remember at this point that the B string, as you already know (or were reminded of in Chapter 2), is not tuned as the other strings of the guitar. So interval patterns will be the same for some strings but will differ should the B string happen to be involved. That includes intervals of notes where the higher note is on the high E (thinnest) string and the lower note is on the G or D string.
Major and Minor Seconds
The interval of the major second is a whole step, or two frets away from the root, when played on the same string. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you can also reach the major second on the next higher string but three frets lower. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the major second will be found two frets lower on the B string.
The minor second is simply one fret up, or a half-step away, from the root on the same string. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you can also reach the minor second on the next higher string but four frets lower. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the minor second will be found three frets lower on the B string.
Playing major and minor seconds on the fretboard.
The interval of the major third is two whole steps, or four frets away from the root when played on the same string. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you can also reach the major third one fret lower on the next higher string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the major third will be found on the B string at the same fret as the root note.
The minor third, being three half-steps away from the root, can be played three frets up on the same string. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you can also reach the minor third two frets lower on the next higher string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the minor third will be found one fret lower on the B string.
Playing major and minor thirds on the fretboard.
The interval of the fourth, which is usually called a “perfect fourth” in music theory, is two and a half steps (five frets) from the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you’ll find the fourth on the next higher string at the same fret as the root. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the fourth will be found one fret higher on the B string.
Playing fourths on the fretboard.
Fifths: Perfect, Augmented, and Diminished
Fifths, on the other hand, can be called “perfect,” “augmented,” or “diminished,” which is a bit of foreshadowing for Chapter 6. The “perfect” fifth is three and a half steps (seven total frets) up from the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you’ll find the perfect fifth two frets higher up the fretboard on the next higher string. From the D string, you’ll also find the perfect fifth located two frets lower on the B string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the perfect fifth will be found three frets higher on the B string as well as two frets lower on the high E string.
The augmented fifth, which is also the minor sixth, is four whole steps higher than the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you’ll find the augmented fifth three frets higher up the fretboard on the next higher string as well as two frets lower on the D (if the root is on the low E) and G (if the root is on the A string). From the D string, you’ll also find the augmented fifth one fret lower on the B string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the augmented fifth will be found four frets higher on the B string, but it’s a lot easier to reach it one fret lower on the high E string.
The diminished fifth is three whole steps from the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you’ll find the diminished fifth one fret higher up the fretboard on the next higher string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the diminished will be found two frets higher on the B string as well as three frets lower on the high E string.
Playing perfect, augmented, and diminished fifths on the fretboard.
HEAR HERE
The diminished fifth is also known as the tritone. It is special in that it is exactly the halfway note between a root and its octave. “Tritone” comes from “tri,” meaning three and “tone,” which refers to a full step in music. The opening of “Purple Haze,” by Jimi Hendrix, is a great place to hear the tritone in all its dramatic glory.
The interval of the major sixth is four and one-half steps (or nine total frets) from the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E, A, D, or B strings, you’ll find the major sixth four frets higher up the fretboard on the next higher string as well as one fret lower on the D (if the root is on the low E) and G (if the root is on the A string). From the D string you can also locate the major sixth on the B string at the same fret as the root note on the D string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the major sixth can be found on the high E string at the same fret as the root.
As mentioned, the minor sixth is the same interval as the augmented fifth.
Playing sixths on the fretboard.
Major Sevenths and Minor Sevenths
The interval of the major seventh is five and a half steps (eleven total frets) up from the root. If you’re playing the root on the low E or A strings, you’ll find the major seventh one fret higher up on the D (if the root is on the low E) and G (if the root is on the A string). From the D string you can find the major seventh two frets higher on the B string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the major seventh can be found two frets higher up on the high E string.
The minor seventh is five full steps higher than the root note. If you’re playing the root on the low E or A strings, you’ll find the minor seventh on the D (if the root is on the low E) and G (if the root is on the A string) at the same fret as the root note. From the D string you can find the minor seventh one fret higher on the B string. If you’re playing the root note on the G string, the minor seventh can be found one fret higher up on the high E string.
Playing major and minor sevenths on the fretboard.
An octave is an interval of six full steps above the root. It also is the same note as the root. The octave of C is C. The octave of A is A. If you’re playing the root on the low E or A strings, you’ll find the octave two frets higher on the D (if the root is on the low E) and G (if the root is on the A string). From the low E string, you can also find the octave three frets lower on the G string. From the A string, you can also find the octave two frets lower on the B string. With the root on the D string, you can find the octave three frets higher on the B string as well as two frets lower on the high E string. And if you’re playing the root note on the G string, the octave will be found three frets higher up on the high E string.
Playing octaves on the fretboard.
Playing octaves on the guitar can be very dynamic as both a lead and a rhythm technique, but it does require a bit of practice if you’ve not tried it before. Essentially, you have two options with the first being to pick the strings with your fingers, using your thumb to pluck the lower note (on the low E, A, D, or G strings) while pinching the string of the higher note with a finger.
HEAR HERE
You’ll hear octaves being used in a lot of rock as well as metal music. The intro of “Last Nite” by the Strokes has one guitarist playing octaves of C while the second guitarist switches between playing fifths (F and C) and fourths (G and C).
If you’re seeking out the master of octave playing, though, check out anything by legendary jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery.
The second method involves string muting, which was mentioned in the discussion on chord charts in Chapter 3. You’ll want to fret the octave interval with your index finger on the low note and either your ring finger or your pinky on the high note. You’ll also want to mute the unfretted string between the two notes. This can be done by either flattening the index finger slightly so that it mutes the unwanted string, or placing your middle finger lightly on that string to keep it from sounding as you quickly pick across all three strings.
Octave Exercise
Here is an exercise written specifically for this chapter to give you some work with octaves. As with all the exercises and examples you will find in this book, it is very straightforward in terms of rhythm. This one is all quarter notes, meaning you play one octave pair for each beat.
Track 19
Playing octaves exercise.
If you’ve never tried playing octaves before, this exercise may be difficult at first as it involves octaves with root notes on various strings. If you find you can’t make the stretches, try to acclimate yourself to playing octaves by playing them farther up the neck. For example, play the D note at the tenth fret of the low E string with your index finger and the D note at the twelfth fret of the D string with your pinky. Then move each finger one fret lower along the neck and play that pair of octave notes. As you get comfortable playing octaves, gradually work your way down the fretboard (a fret at a time) until you get to octaves played on the first and third frets.
Once you’ve gained some experience and confidence playing octaves, go back and try the last exercise again. You should find it easier to do.
Putting Theory to Practice
Regardless of what anyone tells you, it’s one thing to know how to play intervals, or to know any aspect of guitar theory well, and quite another to be able to employ it at will while playing. Just getting to the point where you know what intervals are and how best to get from any given note to your target interval is a huge step. But it’s still a first step.
You can obviously help your progress by practicing, but you can also be practicing even when you don’t have a guitar. The next time you listen to a song, try to pick out any one specific interval in the melody or in a lead guitar line (or whatever instrument may be soloing) or in the bass player’s part.
You might also try singing a simple uncomplicated melody and, once you’ve found the starting note, see if you can play the melody on your guitar as you sing. Use long, drawn out notes to start with. When you find a particular musical phrase you like, try singing it faster and see if you can keep up.
There are also all sorts of interval-based ear training options online as well as apps you can try out. Just put “ear training” or “musical interval ear training” into your favorite search engine and you’ll find plenty of ways to improve your interval recognition as you keep practicing moving from note to note on your fretboard.
- The notes of the scale are ordered by degrees: root, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.
- Intervals are the distance of one note from another, in terms of musical steps and half-steps.
- Intervals are labeled as either “major,” “minor,” “augmented,” “diminished,” or “perfect.”
- Learning to recognize various intervals will help develop your ear.
- Octaves can be used for both rhythm and lead guitar playing.
Two Kinds of Thirds Equals Four Basic Chords
In This Chapter
- Defining chords
- Constructing the four basic chords
- Common open-position basic chord charts
- Redefining chords through intervals
- Mapping out triads
When you learn to play the guitar, chords are usually first and foremost in your mind. You have to learn where to put your fingers on the strings, worry about which strings to strum, and remember just how many beats you want to strum the chord for before panicking about how to begin to change to the next chord. Thinking about what, exactly, a chord is probably never entered your mind.
Somewhere in your mind you know that chords are a group of notes. Now it’s time to find out precisely which notes make up which chords.
From Notes to Intervals to Chords
Play the C note at the first fret of the B string. Listen to the single note and fix it in your ears. Now hit it again, but this time also strike the open high E (thinnest) string. What do you hear?
You might say that you hear a C major chord. Most people (including guitarists) do. If you’ve been practicing your intervals and ear training from Chapter 5, you might say instead that you hear a major third. And simply saying that may lead you to agree with the folks who hear a C major chord.
Now play an open-position Am chord and still do your best to focus your ears on that major third interval of C and E. Don’t look at this page and ask why a minor chord has a major interval. Every minor chord does!
The point is that for every interval you come up with, you can create a number of chords that will have those notes. How do you find out a specific formula, like that of the Major Scale, which will work for building chords?
Constructing Chords from the Major Scale
The answer to that question lies with the Major Scale itself. There are four basic types of chords: major, minor, augmented, and diminished (and all those terms should sound familiar now after our previous chapter on intervals). And each of the four is built with the root note, the third note, and the fifth note of the Major Scale.
Well, kind of. Obviously there must be more to it than that or there wouldn’t be four different kinds of chords. So let’s take a look at the formula for each one in terms of the intervals we just learned about:
And to give you an idea of how these four basic chords compare to each other in sound, here are chord charts for D major, D minor, D augmented, and D diminished so you can try them out for yourself. Or you can just listen to the audio file on Track 20.
D major, D minor, D augmented, and D diminished chords.
Basic Open-Position Major Chords
You probably already know quite a few chords, but it’s also good to know the notes that make up each chord. Here are the basic open-position major chords that you’re hopefully very familiar with:
A major, C major, D major, E major, F major, and G major.
Basic Open-Position Minor, Augmented, and Diminished Chords
Here are the open-position charts for a number of minor, augmented, and diminished chords. You may not know some of these, so take a moment or two to add them to your chord repertoire.
Various other open-position basic chords.
Constructing Chords from Thirds
In guitar theory, it’s actually more helpful to look at the four basic chords by looking at the interval of the fifth, whether major, augmented, or diminished, in a somewhat different manner.
Instead of thinking of the fifth as an interval with the root note, think of the fifth as an interval whose root note is the third. Think about it. The interval of a major third is two full steps from the root, while the interval of the minor third is a step and a half from the root. But the fifth is also either two full steps or a step and a half away from the note of the third.
To make sure you’re getting this, try using the C Major Scale to help you. C is the root. E is the major third, which is two full steps from C. G is the perfect fifth, which is three and a half steps up from C. That means that G is a step and a half (an interval of a minor third) away from E.
The way the Major Scale is formulated, every fifth is a third of the third, strange as that may sound. But it does help us to understand why and how the four basic chords were formed. Since you know that the root note of the chord has to stay the same (otherwise the chord would have a different name) and you also know that there are two kinds of intervals of thirds (major thirds and minor thirds), you can make these four possible combinations:
| Intervals Between Triad Notes | ||
| Root to Third | Third to Fifth | Triad Type |
| Major 3rd | Minor 3rd | Major |
| Minor 3rd | Major 3rd | Minor |
| Major 3rd | Major 3rd | Augmented |
| Minor 3rd | Minor 3rd | Diminished |
Being able to recognize each part of a chord as the interval of either a major third or a minor third allows you to use the fretboard to play three note arpeggios, called triads of any chord you choose. Here are fretboard maps for each of the four basic chords:
Playing triads by linking major and minor thirds together.
Because you’ve spent time working on playing the interval of both the major and minor third, you should have no trouble stringing two intervals together. Start with a note at any fret on any string of the guitar (except the high E string). From there move a major third. Then add a minor third to that. Voila! You’ve just played a major triad. Reverse the order of your major and minor intervals to play a minor triad. String together two major thirds and you’ve got an augmented triad. Two minor thirds linked together (after the initial note, of course) will be a diminished triad.
The fastest way to get good at playing triads, as well as constructing chords, is to use this triad/arpeggio method as much as possible. Take any song you know well, preferably one with both major and minor chords (and also preferably one with few and slow chord changes) and try to pick a few triads instead of strumming a chord. As you gain confidence in your ability to do so, add more and more triads to your playing until you get to the point where you can play an entire song that way.
Another great way to practice is to mash your triads together. For example, if you start on C and work out the triad for the C major chord, you’ll end up on G. Use that G as the starting point for a new and different triad, such as Gm, Gaug, or Gdim.
You could find yourself going on for ages.
The Least You Need to Know
- The four basic types of chords are major, minor, augmented, and diminished.
- Each of the four basic chords is made up of the root, the third, and the fifth of the Major Scale of the root.
- You can also think of the four basic chords as being two intervals of thirds stacked onto the root note.