The Different Types of Intervals in Music Theory

Whether you’re a professional musician or just starting out, intervals in music theory are one of the most important building blocks of melody and harmony. Understanding the different types of musical intervals will help you recognize patterns, create chords, and develop stronger ear training skills.

What is an Interval in Music Theory?

In music theory, an interval is simply the distance between two notes. There are several types of intervals that are determined by how many notes (or semitones) are in between the two pitches. These categories include:

Perfect Intervals
Major and Minor Intervals
Augmented and Diminished Intervals
Compound Intervals

Learning to recognize and use each type is essential for building scales, chords, and melodies.

Perfect Intervals in Music Theory

Perfect intervals are known for their strong, stable sound. They often serve as the backbone of many chords and are considered highly consonant.

Examples of perfect intervals include:

Unison
Perfect Fourth
Perfect Fifth
Octave (Perfect 8th)

These intervals in music theory are fundamental because they sound “resolved” and are easy to recognize by ear.

Major and Minor Intervals in Music Theory

Major and minor intervals define the character or quality of many chords. In music theory, major intervals often sound bright, happy, and uplifting, while minor intervals are darker, more emotional, or even sad.

Examples include:

Major Second
Major Third
Minor Third
Minor Sixth
Major Sixth
Minor Seventh
Major Seventh

When stacked, these musical intervals create the difference between major and minor chords, scales, and progressions.

Augmented and Diminished Intervals in Music

Augmented and diminished intervals are altered forms of perfect, major, and minor intervals.

Augmented intervals are made one semitone larger than their perfect or major form.
Diminished intervals are made one semitone smaller than their perfect or minor form.

These intervals in music theory add tension and are often used in advanced harmony, jazz, and dramatic film scoring.

Compound Intervals in Music Theory

A compound interval is simply an interval that is larger than an octave. For example, a 9th is the same as a 2nd plus one octave.

Compound intervals are very common in jazz, orchestral music, and modern production. They allow for wide melodic leaps and lush chord voicings.

The Sounds of Different Intervals in Music Theory

Training your ear to recognize musical intervals is one of the most valuable skills a musician can develop. Being able to identify intervals in music theory helps you reverse engineer melodies, learn songs faster, and build better compositions.

Here are some classic ear training references to help you connect sound with interval:

Unison: “Row Row Row Your Boat” (opening note)
Minor Second: Jaws Theme (first two notes)
Major Second: Happy Birthday (“Happy birth-”)
Minor Third: Smoke on the Water (riff jump)
Major Third: Oh When the Saints (“Oh When”)
Perfect Fourth: Here Comes the Bride (“Here Comes”)
Perfect Fifth: Star Wars Theme (opening leap)
Tritone: The Simpsons Theme (“Sim-psons”)
Minor Sixth: We Are Young (line: “Set the world on fire”)
Major Sixth: NBC Chimes (Opening note)
Minor Seventh: Somewhere (West Side Story: “There’s a place…”)
Major Seventh: Take On Me (the “Take on” leap)
Octave: Somewhere Over the Rainbow (“Some-where”)

Practicing with these songs and using an interval chart will help strengthen your ear training over time.

The Sounds of Different Intervals

Being able to identify the various intervals by ear can be very beneficial when it comes to music. It can help you reverse engineer a lot of the melodies and chords you hear.

Luckily there are some tools to help you identify each one.

Below is a list of references that highlight each of the intervals to help you make connections by ear.