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Notation - Intervals

Learn to recognize intervals between two notes in four clefs.

Setup

Clefs
Use these checkboxes to select which clefs should be used in the quiz.

Qualities
Use these checkboxes to select what qualities of intervals should be played. A 'quality' is the same as the 'specific name' mentioned below.

Intervals
Use these checkboxes to select what intervals should be played. These checkboxes refer to the 'general name' mentioned below.


Learning the Intervals

Intervals
An intervals consists of two parts: a general name and a specific name. The general name is a number, specifically the distance between the two notes (For example, G to A would be a 2nd, and E to B would be a 5th), and the specific name is a quality, as listed below. Note that depending on the general name, some qualities do not apply — for example, there is no such thing as a major 5th or a perfect 3rd. Each quality represents a certain number of half steps to add or subtract from the major or perfect type of each interval.

Number of Half Steps

Quality for 1me, 4th, 5th, and 8ve

Quality for 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th

-3

Doubly Diminished

-2

Doubly Diminished

Diminished

-1

Diminished

Minor

0

Perfect

Major

+1

Augmented

Augmented

+2

Doubly Augmented

Doubly Augmented

Enharmonic Intervals
Note that there can be multiple names for the same number of half steps — for example, an augmented fourth and a diminished fifth are both 6 half steps. While the Aural Skills - Intervals quiz treats these "enharmonic" intervals as being equal, this quiz does not. This is because these intervals are fundamentally different (hence their difference in notation) — not only do they differ in tuning, but they also function in different ways in music. The only reason that the Aural Skills - Intervals quiz treats them as being the same is because it is almost impossible to tell the difference aurally without context.