How The Intervals Work on a Guitar
Music School Owner, Recording Artist, Guitarist, Composer, Performer & Educator. My goal is to make good music, make and keep good friends.
Free Video Guitar Lessons
Subscribe to GuitarSchool1 on YouTube for more free lessons
INTERVALS
An interval is the distance between two pitches or notes, including the notes themselves.
A harmonic interval results from the simultaneous sounding of two notes, while a melodic interval occurs from two notes played successively.
Counting the total number of notes suggests the name of the interval. (For example: The interval from C to A is a “sixth,” because there are six notes from C to A including C and A.)
This is only general naming, however; because, specifically, there can be major, minor, perfect, augmented or diminished versions of certain intervals (i.e., minor third or major third, augmented 4th or diminished 5th).
The major scale is traditionally used as a reference point in determining specific names; all of the intervals from the root are either major (2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th) or perfect (unison, 4th, 5th and octave). The remaining possibilities follow these three rules:
- A major interval lowered a half-step becomes a minor interval.
- A perfect or minor interval lowered a half-step becomes a diminished interval.
- A perfect or major interval raised a half-step becomes an augmented interval.
It is important to realize that each interval has an exact number of half-steps that never changes, no matter what scale, key, chord, position, etc.
On a guitar you can see the distance in frets, with each fret equaling a half-step.
(The major scale intervals have been bolded)
0 fret—Unison
1 fret—Minor 2nd
2 frets—Major 2nd
3 frets—Minor 3rd
4 frets—Major 3rd
5 frets—Perfect fourth
6 frets—Augmented 4th/Diminished 5th
7 frets—Perfect 5th
8 frets—Minor 6th
9 frets—Major 6th
10 frets—Minor 7th
11 frets—Major 7th
12 frets —Octave
If you play open-2nd-4th-5th-7th-9th-11th-12th on any string you'll get a major scale.
An excellent coordination as well as melodic exercise is playing parallel intervals, which is pairing each note of the scale with the same interval. You’ll often hear references such as “playing the scale in thirds,” which means to alternate between each successive step of the scale and a scale tone three notes away.
3rds in G
3rds in G major on the 1st 2 strings E & B
E string-3--5--7---8---10--12--14--15
B string-5--7--9--10--12--13--15--17
Intervals on the Guitar
- How To Play Rhythm Piano (Why should guitarists have...
The problem with traditional piano education is that it doesn't teach you how to play in a band. - Pro Band - Jamming Tracks App Review
Pro Band. iPhone iPad iTouch Android rhythm tracks blues rock backing tracks review - The Simplified Basics of Starting to Learn to Play t...
This is the absolute bottom line of how to start playing guitar. The information given here is in small chunks, easy to digest and will give the student a solid foundation to pursue guitar mastery. - Learn The 5 Positions of the E Minor Pentatonic Scal...
The minor pentatonic scale on the guitar, and particularily the E minor pentatonic scale is a blues and rock guitar staple. There have been so many guitar driven songs in this key that one could easily make a case for E being the starting place to le - The Basics of Playing Together in a Band
About how play in a band and not kill each other. Practice and rehearsal tips. - Becoming a Competent Musician
An overview of how to become a good musician. lessons, practice - Blues Turnarounds For Guitarists
Details on how to play blues turanarounds on the guitar featuring 9 classic blues turnaround examples in tablature - Blues: An Original American Music
An overview history of how the blues started and progressed in America. - Learning To Play Jazz Guitar From The Beginning
How to approach learning beginning jazz guitar - Bending the Strings in Blues Guitar
About the nuances of bending strings on the guitar
Chromaticism and Improvisation
- Modes
- Memorizing The Notes
- Incorporating Chromaticism into Improvising
How chromatic notes work in improvisation
Improvisation Phrasing
- Phrasing in Improvisation
An overview on concepts applied to improvisation and composition.