MTME Lesson 2: Intervals (Part 4)
This is the last section for intervals. By now that you know how to find your major, minor, and perfect intervals, and you should be able to figure out your intervals both above and below a given note. Congratulations! In college, this takes weeks....
This lesson will focus on the interval that we always skip. If you'll remember it is the one with 6 half steps that falls in between Perfect 4th and Perfect 5th. There are two more interval names and a few more vocabulary terms you need to know for this lesson. The two interval names are augmented and diminished.
Augmented is the term used when you make an interval larger than it is supposed to go. When writing this in music, you use a capital A so an augmented 2nd would be A2.
Diminished is the term used when you make an interval smaller than it is supposed to go. When writing this in music, you use a lower case d so a diminished 2nd would be d2.
When figuring out the interval that has 6 half steps, you need to know from what direction it is coming from. It is coming from P4, then the answer is Augmented 4th. If it is coming from P5, then the answer is Diminished 5th. This might seem easy right now, but this actually opens up some major problems which I will discuss below.
The vocabulary terms are not ask tricky to learn since they are extensions of things you already know. These are Double Flat and Double Sharp. I will first define Flat and Sharp before I define the new terms.
Flat- Lowers the note a half step
Sharp- Raises the note a half step
Double Flat- Lowers the note two half steps (or a whole step). A double flat looks like two flat signs next to each other: bb Example: Abb
Double Sharp- Raises the note two half steps (or a whole step). A double sharp looks like an x. Example Dx
Before we continue, let me ask you a few questions:
1) Is there such a thing as Fb and Cb? Look at the keyboard above. Do the notes exist on the keyboard?!
2) If I have double flat and sharp notes, aren't they the same as other notes that are pictured on the keyboard?!
Before I answer those question, we will talk about another important vocabulary term called Enharmonic.
Enharmonic is the term used when two or more notes occupy the same key on the piano or the same space on an instrument. At the most basic level, all black keys on the keyboard are enharmonic. For example Db and C# occupy the same space. It means that they sound the same so the enharmonic spelling of Db is C# and vice versa. Honestly, ALL notes on a keyboard have enharmonic spellings.
To answer my first question, Fb does exist. If I take and F and I move it down a half step like the definition tells me, I have E. E is technically Fb. Similarly, if I take C and I add a flat, I move it down a half step like the definition tells me, I have B. B is Cb or the official way to say it is "B is the enharmonic spelling of Cb."
To answer my second question, ALL keyboard notes have multiple spellings. For example, Cx sounds like D and Fbb sounds like Eb since they occupy the same key on the keyboard but musically, they are two different notes.
(Theoretically, triple flat and sharp notes exist. This is not my fault. I did not invent music. For this class however, you will only need to know single flat and sharp notes however you must understand the concept of how double and triple flats and sharps work.)
This lesson will focus on the interval that we always skip. If you'll remember it is the one with 6 half steps that falls in between Perfect 4th and Perfect 5th. There are two more interval names and a few more vocabulary terms you need to know for this lesson. The two interval names are augmented and diminished.
Augmented is the term used when you make an interval larger than it is supposed to go. When writing this in music, you use a capital A so an augmented 2nd would be A2.
Diminished is the term used when you make an interval smaller than it is supposed to go. When writing this in music, you use a lower case d so a diminished 2nd would be d2.
When figuring out the interval that has 6 half steps, you need to know from what direction it is coming from. It is coming from P4, then the answer is Augmented 4th. If it is coming from P5, then the answer is Diminished 5th. This might seem easy right now, but this actually opens up some major problems which I will discuss below.
The vocabulary terms are not ask tricky to learn since they are extensions of things you already know. These are Double Flat and Double Sharp. I will first define Flat and Sharp before I define the new terms.
Flat- Lowers the note a half step
Sharp- Raises the note a half step
Double Flat- Lowers the note two half steps (or a whole step). A double flat looks like two flat signs next to each other: bb Example: Abb
Double Sharp- Raises the note two half steps (or a whole step). A double sharp looks like an x. Example Dx
Before we continue, let me ask you a few questions:
1) Is there such a thing as Fb and Cb? Look at the keyboard above. Do the notes exist on the keyboard?!
2) If I have double flat and sharp notes, aren't they the same as other notes that are pictured on the keyboard?!
Before I answer those question, we will talk about another important vocabulary term called Enharmonic.
Enharmonic is the term used when two or more notes occupy the same key on the piano or the same space on an instrument. At the most basic level, all black keys on the keyboard are enharmonic. For example Db and C# occupy the same space. It means that they sound the same so the enharmonic spelling of Db is C# and vice versa. Honestly, ALL notes on a keyboard have enharmonic spellings.
To answer my first question, Fb does exist. If I take and F and I move it down a half step like the definition tells me, I have E. E is technically Fb. Similarly, if I take C and I add a flat, I move it down a half step like the definition tells me, I have B. B is Cb or the official way to say it is "B is the enharmonic spelling of Cb."
To answer my second question, ALL keyboard notes have multiple spellings. For example, Cx sounds like D and Fbb sounds like Eb since they occupy the same key on the keyboard but musically, they are two different notes.
(Theoretically, triple flat and sharp notes exist. This is not my fault. I did not invent music. For this class however, you will only need to know single flat and sharp notes however you must understand the concept of how double and triple flats and sharps work.)