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Conference napalm::guitar

Title:GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:KDX200::COOPER
Created:Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3280
Total number of notes:61432

2336.0. "Interval Question" by NEWOA::DALLISON (she takes down his particulars) Thu Sep 26 1991 09:53

        
        Can someone please help me, 
        
        I was having a discussion with someone last night about intervals 
        and we were talking about the interval between A and F#.
        
        Am I correct in saying that the interval from A up (ie pitch) to 
        F# is a major 6th and that the interval from A down to F# is a 
        minor 3rd ?
        
        I hope I'm not wrong as it was a pretty heated disussion!!
        
        Thanks,
        -Tony (who doesn't know a great deal about intervals). 
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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2336.1I know...it's squid joke...sorryWOLVER::SDANDREATrials BulldawgThu Sep 26 1991 10:055
    what's an interval??
    
    8^)
    
    Bulldawg
2336.2You Win!CAVLRY::BUCKACE Regional RepThu Sep 26 1991 10:1221
    Tony,
    
    You're correct.
    
    Intervals follow a rule "all intervals add up to 9"
    
    What does that mean?  It means...if you have a Perfect 4th interval,
    and you invert it, it will be a perfect 5th interval.  4 + 5 = 9.
    
    If You have a Major 7th Interval and invert it, you'll have a Minor
    2nd interval.  7 + 2 = 9
    
    In your case...if you have a Major 6th and invert it, it's a Minor 3rd.
    6 + 3 = 9.
    
    Here is one thing to NOTE:  If you've noticed, if the FIRST interval is
    MAJOR, the inverion invertal is MINOR!!  Vice versa, If you have a 
    MINOR interval FIRST (like a Minor 3rd), the inversion will be MAJOR
    (Major 6th).  The only exceptions to this rule at the 4th and 5th 
    intervals, as they are both "Perfect" intervals (Perfect 5th, Perfect
    5th), and the Minor/Major thing does not apply here.
2336.3NEWOA::DALLISONshe takes down his particularsThu Sep 26 1991 11:061
    Phew - Thanks Buck, I'm learning 8^)
2336.4NEWOA::DALLISONshe takes down his particularsThu Sep 26 1991 11:279
    
    One of the things that was difficult to get accros to this person (who
    knew a fair amount about theory) was that a descending and an ascending
    interval between two notes are not the same.
    
    BTW - I've just enrolled to study Jazz Fusion at the London Guitar
    Institute. I'm psyched !! 
    
    -Tony (who studied rock/metal techniques there last year)
2336.5CAVLRY::BUCKACE Regional RepThu Sep 26 1991 11:3115
    >One of the things that was difficult to get accros to this person (who
    >knew a fair amount about theory) was that a descending and an ascending
    >interval between two notes are not the same.
    
    If he didn't know THAT...then he 
    
    a) doesn't know as much theory as he thinks he does
    b) should hit the books
    
    
    >BTW - I've just enrolled to study Jazz Fusion at the London Guitar
    >Institute. I'm psyched !! 
    
    Congrats...very good move!!
    
2336.6GroovyKERNEL::FLOWERSLife? Just say NO!Thu Sep 26 1991 13:009
    
    
    	1: Thanks Tony for asking the question.
    
    	2: Thanks Buck for the answer.....howcum nobodys' explained it like 
    	   that to me before? Ace way of explaining it (adding up to 9
    	   Minor becoming Major etc.)
    
    	J
2336.7a question for the masterSTAR::SALKEWICZIt missed... therefore, I am Thu Sep 26 1991 14:0913
    Buck,
    
    	Is it not also true that the inversion of a "second" to a "seventh"
    has no major/minor context to it?
    
    	I mean there is a minor second,... but no real "major" second. This
    is becasue the interval between the root and the second is the same
    for both the major and the minor scale.
    
    	OK,.. I'm ready to be corrected :-)
    
    						/Bill
    
2336.8Major mistake I'm making with this oneGOES11::G_HOUSEDon't ask me what I think of you...Thu Sep 26 1991 14:421
    So what do you get if you have like, a MAJOR minor, dude?
2336.9rebuttleCAVLRY::BUCKACE Regional RepThu Sep 26 1991 14:4340
    >	OK,.. I'm ready to be corrected :-)
    
    Ready ... aim ...
    8^)
    
    >	Is it not also true that the inversion of a "second" to a "seventh"
    >has no major/minor context to it?
    >
    >	I mean there is a minor second,... but no real "major" second. This
    >is becasue the interval between the root and the second is the same
    >for both the major and the minor scale.
    
    It doesn't work that way.  Example...Melodic Minor, Harmonic Minor, and
    Aeolian Minor all have natural 6th's in the scale, but that makes them
    "minor 6th" intervals becuase they are in minor-based scales.  They are
    all actually Major 6th invervals.
    
    Basically, it comes down to using the terms "major" and "minor" in
    relation to wether or not the note is natural to the scale form,
    or wether it is altered as an accidental (ie - flatted!).  Below are
    some examples in the KEY OF C MAJOR to explain:
    
    C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   1/8
    
    C - D = MAJOR 2nd		C - Db = MINOR 2nd
    
    C - E = MAJOR 3rd		C - Eb = MINOR 3rd
    
    C - A = MAJOR 6th		C - Ab = MINOR 6th
    
    C - B = MAJOR 7th		C - Bb = Minor 7th
    
    
    Again, the 4th and 5ths were left out as they are "Perfect" intervals,
    and do not apply to this theory.
    
    ...and it is this theory which back the statement of MAJOR 7th (say,
    C - B) inverted is a MINOR 2nd (B - C)...see how it works?
    
2336.10??WOLVER::SDANDREATrials BulldawgThu Sep 26 1991 14:466
    ok guys, I've read all this stuff....now,
    
    
    What the #@$^&* is an interval?????!!!
    
    Steve  8^)
2336.11there ya have itCAVLRY::BUCKACE Regional RepThu Sep 26 1991 14:478
    >So what do you get if you have like, a MAJOR minor, dude?
    
    Exactly that!!!
    
    For example...the notes C, Eb, G, and B is a Minor Major 7th chord.
    I guess for yuk's you could refer to a Dominant 7th chord as a 
    Major Minor 7th, as it is...(C E G and Bb), but the issue of Dominance
    lies deep than that, so...
2336.12NEWOA::DALLISONshe takes down his particularsFri Sep 27 1991 06:4320
    Whasts an interval ?
    
    Its a name given to the 'distance' betwen any two notes derived from 
    the major scale. Obviously, the major scale is made up of semi-tones 
    and whole tones and these tones (or in laymans terms 'frets') are 
    reffered to as Intervals.
    
    The most frequenlty refered to interval is probably the octave, but there 
    are many more in western music (as per Bucks note) and even more in
    Eastern music!!
    
    Some intervals have an unresolved sound to them (like a minor 2nd or
    diminished 5th etc..) this means that they sound kinda 'wrong' in some
    applications. Intervals such as 4ths, 5ths and major (and minor) 3rds 
    etc.. are found frequently in 'rock' chords (ie power chords with the
    root-interval-root_octave structure).
    
    Then again, I'm probably wrong 8^)
    
    -Tony
2336.13my interval definitionPLAYER::PETITMon Sep 30 1991 12:0059
	Tony,

	I don't agree 100% on your definition of interval. To me, an interval
is the distance between two notes, FULL STOP (that is, regardless of any 
scale...). A scale is a succession of notes, that can be identified by their
interval relative to the first note of the scale being the root note, also
called DEGREE 1 of the scale. The other notes form the successive degrees
of the scale. Each degree has always the same interval compared to the root
note :

		DEGREE 1 = unisson (because it is the root)
		DEGREE 2 = second 
		DEGREE 3 = third
		DEGREE 4 = fourth
		DEGREE 5 = fifth
		DEGREE 6 = sixth
		DEGREE 7 = seventh
		DEGREE 8 = octave
		DEGREE 9 = ninth = second but an octave higher 

			and so on...

	Now, depending on the scale you are using,

	1. some degrees may or may not exist :
		ex : in major and minor scales, all degrees are present
		     in minor pentatonic scales, degrees 4 and 6 are missing

	2. each degree that is present in a scale has properties that are
	   specific to the scale :
		ex : in major scales, the DEGREE 3 is always a MAJOR third
		     in minor scales, the DEGREE 3 is always a MINOR third


	As you can see, scales are constructed on intervals, but intervals
exist independently of the scales using them.

	Also, if you take 2 notes, lets say C and D, the interval between
them will ALWAYS be a second, because D is the DEGREE 2 compared to the root
note C :

		C - D		is a major second
		C - D flat	is a minor second
		C - D sharp	is an augmented second, AND NOT a minor 
				third (C - E flat is a minor third, because
				E is DEGREE 3 relatively to the root note C).
				As you can see, when it comes to music theory,
				D sharp and E flat are different notes, 
				although most musicians consider they're equal
				(physically, they are different notes, but so
				close that most instruments use the same key
				or the same fret for both of them...)


Hope I haven't made things more complicated than they are...This is only 
my understanding, and I'm open to discussion with anyone who would disagree...

Christian
2336.14I thought this was cool - interval examplesFRETZ::HEISERhotfootinThu Dec 05 1991 14:5572
Article 16272 of rec.music.makers:
From: [email protected] (Tony Chung)
Subject: Intervals in a song
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 1 Apr 91 14:18:19 GMT
Organization: Mad Artists' Technological Hangout

Hello!  A long while back someone asked about hearing intervals.  This
list is far from complete.  Other people may have different songs that
are easier for them.  You'll also notice I left a whole bunch of blanks.
 
I tried to find stuff for the TT going DOWN, and the major 7ths, but
still they elude me.  I guess what I'd do in these instances is write a
song using those intervals as the starting line!
 
Without that ado crap, here's a little bit of what I use when my ears
just won't work for me:
 
Interval        up                        down
=====================================================================
 
minor 2nd       Jaws                      Second-Hand Rose
                ("DUH DUNT...)            ("SE-COND HAND ROSE...")
 
major 2nd       Oh Susanna                The First Noel
                ("WELL I COME from...")   ("THE-UH FIRST...")
 
minor 3rd       O Canada                  Star Spangled Banner
                ("O CAN-ada")             ("OH-OH say...")
 
major 3rd       Michael Row Your          Giant Steps
                Boat Ashore               ("LIFE WHEN we were...")
                ("MI-CHAEL row...")
 
perfect 4th     Someday My Prince         All Of Me
                Will Come                 ("ALL OF me...")
                ("SOME-DAY my...")
                
tritone         Maria (west side story)
		("MA-RI-a, I just met...") 
    
perfect 5th     Imperial margerine        For Your Eyes Only
                (royal theme              ("For your eyes ON-LY")
                 "DUNT-da da-DAH")
                My Favourite Things
                ("RAIN-DROPS on roses...")
                                
minor 6th       Black Orpheus             Where Do I Begin
                ("I'LL SING to the        ("WHERE DO I begin...")
                 sun in the sky...")
                 
major 6th       My Bonny Lies Over        All Blues (Miles Davis)
                The Ocean                 ("The SEA, THE sky")
                ("MY BON-ny lies...")
                or the NBC jingle,
                (take your pick)
                 
minor 7th       There's A Place For Us
                ("THERE'S A place...")
 
major 7th
 
perfect octave  Alice In Wonderland
                ("A-LICE in Wonderland")
                Somewhere Over the Rainbow
                ("SOME-WHERE over ...")


-- 
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
        "If you drive, don't drink."                    -- Tony Chung
        [email protected]      [email protected]
2336.15GOES11::G_HOUSETommy The CatThu Dec 05 1991 17:297
    Thyat's definately cool, I remember an old guitar teacher showing me
    something similar, but I don't think he had the down interval examples.  
    
    I didn't know all the songs mentioned, anyone got any more examples
    like that?
    
    Greg
2336.16chords, tooGLDOA::REITERThu Dec 05 1991 17:345
    someone in the last few months posted something similar with regard to
    chords (major, minor, 7ths, 9ths, etc.) that was also very clever
    
    anyone have a pointer?
    \Gary