Printable chart
Interval chart
Every interval from a unison to an octave: its name, the number of semitones, how it looks on the staff above C, and a song that starts with it.
Fits on one page.
| Semitones | Interval | Above C4 | Reference tunes (ascending) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Perfect unison P1 | Any repeated note, such as the first two notes of “Happy Birthday” | |
| 1 | Minor 2nd m2 | “Jaws” theme | |
| 2 | Major 2nd M2 | “Frère Jacques”; “Do-Re-Mi” | |
| 3 | Minor 3rd m3 | “Greensleeves”; “Smoke on the Water” | |
| 4 | Major 3rd M3 | “When the Saints Go Marching In”; “Kumbaya” | |
| 5 | Perfect 4th P4 | “Here Comes the Bride”; “Amazing Grace” | |
| 6 | Tritone (augmented 4th / diminished 5th) A4 / d5 | “The Simpsons” theme; “Maria” (West Side Story) | |
| 7 | Perfect 5th P5 | “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”; Star Wars main theme | |
| 8 | Minor 6th m6 | “Love Story” theme | |
| 9 | Major 6th M6 | “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean”; the NBC chimes | |
| 10 | Minor 7th m7 | “Somewhere” (West Side Story); original Star Trek theme | |
| 11 | Major 7th M7 | “Take On Me” (chorus) | |
| 12 | Perfect octave P8 | “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” |
Reference tunes are the ones teachers most often use to remember the sound of each interval; the first two notes of the tune, going up. Check them against a keyboard or the Interval Ear Trainer rather than trusting memory of the recording.
Reading the chart#
An interval is the distance between two notes. Its number (2nd, 3rd, 4th…) counts letter names including both ends: C up to E is a 3rd because it spans C, D, E. Its quality (perfect, major, minor, augmented, diminished) says how many semitones that number spans.
- 1st, 4th, 5th and 8th are perfect when they are the plain size. They are never major or minor.
- 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th are major or minor: the minor version is one semitone smaller.
- Make a perfect or minor interval one semitone smaller and it becomes diminished; make a perfect or major interval one semitone larger and it becomes augmented.
Same sound, different name#
The tritone is six semitones. Written as C up to F♯ it is an augmented 4th; written as C up to G♭ it is a diminished 5th. The sound is identical on a piano; the spelling depends on the key.
Beyond the octave#
Intervals larger than an octave are compound: a 9th is a 2nd plus an octave, a 10th is a 3rd plus an octave, and so on.
Sources: Wikipedia: Interval, Wikipedia: Semitone.