Twelve intervals, twelve little jumps. Tap a play button to hear one!
Intervals by ear
An interval is the distance between two notes, counted in semitones, one piano key each. Here are all twelve, from the minor second to the octave, each with a page to hear it up, down and together and a quick quiz.
All twelve, smallest to largest
- Minor secondm2 · 1 semitone · The smallest step on the piano: one key apart, like E to F.
- Major secondM2 · 2 semitones · One step of a scale, two keys apart.
- Minor thirdm3 · 3 semitones · Three keys apart, the minor third sounds tender and a little wistful.
- Major thirdM3 · 4 semitones · Four keys apart, bright and open, like a bugle call or a doorbell.
- Perfect fourthP4 · 5 semitones · Five keys apart, strong and open, a little ceremonial, like something is about to begin.
- TritoneTT · 6 semitones · Six keys apart, exactly half an octave.
- Perfect fifthP5 · 7 semitones · Seven keys apart, hollow and steady, like an open field.
- Minor sixthm6 · 8 semitones · Eight keys apart, a wide and yearning leap with a bittersweet tint, like a sigh turned upward.
- Major sixthM6 · 9 semitones · Nine keys apart, warm and sweeping, like opening your arms wide.
- Minor seventhm7 · 10 semitones · Ten keys apart, bluesy and unfinished.
- Major seventhM7 · 11 semitones · Eleven keys apart, shimmering and a little sharp-edged.
- OctaveP8 · 12 semitones · Twelve keys apart: the same note, higher.
How to practice
Start with the octave and the perfect fifth: they are the easiest to hear, and they make good landmarks for the rest.
Then work in pairs of neighbors, like the minor and major third. The quiz on each page plays an interval and its two neighbors, because those are the ones your ear mixes up.
Sing each one back after you hear it. Hearing and singing train each other, and a tune you already know makes a handy anchor.
Curious how fine your pitch hearing is? Take the tone-deaf test, or play today's tune.