Lesson on intervals

BradB

BradB

Blues Newbie
That sound you hear is my head exploding. I was doing fine up until that lesson. The main thing I don't uderstand: We are told how to arrive at the number and quality, but we never learn what those quality terms mean. For example, Diminished...diminished from what? Augmented with what? I can arrive at the number/quality, but I have no idea what it actually means. Help!

Brad
 
Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
Hopefully your answer is in here somewhere.

In general:

Minor refers to making a Major interval a half step smaller or narrower.

Diminished refers to making a Perfect or minor interval a half step smaller.

Augmented refers to making an interval a half step larger or wider.

All of these terms (minor, diminished, augmented) refer to lowering or raising one of the notes in an interval, resulting in a smaller or larger interval.

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Some examples in C Major: C D E F G A B C

C to E is a Major 3rd (M3). Lowering the E to Eb creates a minor 3rd (m3), C to Eb.

C to G is a Perfect 5th (P5). Lowering the G to Gb creates a diminished 5th, i.e. you are "diminishing" the 5th, making it 1/2 step smaller, C to Gb.

Raising the G to G# creates an augmented 5th. You are "augmenting" the 5th, making it 1/2 step wider, C to G#.

C to B is a Major 7th (M7). Lowering the B to Bb creates a minor 7, C to Bb. Lowering it again creates a diminished 7, C to Bbb.

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For further explanation (or to add to the confusion):


By definition, in a Major scale the 4th & 5th are considered Perfect (P4 & P5) and the 2nd, 3rd, 6th & 7th are considered Major intervals (M2, M3, M6 & M7).

In the Major scale, each interval is between the root and each successive scale degree (Perfect Unison, M2, M3, P4,P5, M6, M7, Perfect Octave)

The upper note of Major intervals can be lowered a half step and considered minor (m2, m3, m6 & m7).

The upper note of Perfect intervals can be lowered a half step, but are considered diminished, i.e. made smaller (usually diminished 4th or 5th).

Intervals can be raised a half step and are considered augmented, i.e. made larger (augmented 4th or 5th).

Minor intervals can be lowered another half step and are then also considered diminished.
 
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A

AngeloMarino

Blues Newbie
Intervals. Why does the answer to question 3 give and answer to B-D starting with C rather than B? Same with question 4. Question 4 says from D down to B. Why start at Bb and not B?
I thought we count the letter we start with? There may be other examples but I stopped at 4 because I am doing something wrong.
 
Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
AngeloMarino said:
Why does the answer to question 3 give and answer to B-D starting with C rather than B? I thought we count the letter we start with?
Click to expand...

Yes, counting all the letters gives you the number. Counting the half steps between the letters gives you the quality.

ex 3.jpg

-----(Interval - letters - half steps - answer)


While he is explaining, first he writes out, then counts, the 3 letters involved-BCD. So you know it's some kind of third.
(Here you include the starting letter, the ending letter and all letters in between when counting.)

Then he writes the half steps between B and D and counts those. (Also 3)
(You don't count the starting note here. You count the number of half steps up from there.)


Listen as he says "If we count half steps, B, up a half step, I hope you remember, is C," then writes C.

He is starting with B, but the half step up is C.

Then C up to C# is another half step.

Then C# up to D is another half step.

A total of 3 half steps to get from B up to D.

And the chart tells you that the answer based on having 3 half steps is a minor 3rd.


The notes C C# D are the half steps between B and D.

First he writes the notes between, and including, B & D (B C D), then he writes the half steps between B & D (C C# D).

Then he writes the answer.

The 3 letters in the interval tell you its a 3rd, then the 3 half steps in the interval tell you it's a minor 3rd.


For each example he writes out all the letters involved, then the half steps in between, then the answer.:)
 
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Paleo

Paleo

Student Of The Blues
@AngeloMarino

I just re-watched Lesson 1.

After he explains the "mental model" of Whole and half steps, he gives a few quick examples of counting up, down, etc.

The very first example, at about the 12:00 minute mark, is counting the half steps up from B to D.

This is the very same interval as example Ex 3 in Lesson 5.

If counting the number of half steps to get the quality in the Lesson 5 examples is giving you trouble, I would go back and make sure the exercises in Lesson 1 make sense to you.

**Getting the quality of the intervals in Lesson 5 depends on your understanding of counting the half steps in Lesson 1.**;):)


He could write out each of the half steps like this:

B up to C, C up to C#, C# up to D

or like this:

B-C, C-C#, C#-D

However, he choses to simply write the "upper" note of each half step, i.e. the ones you land on each time you go up: C-C#-D.

You wouldn't count the note you started on because you haven't gone anywhere yet.

You will count the number of times you go another half step up from it.

(I would also go back through the exercises and check them out on my guitar.:sneaky:)
 
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david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
and just to connect with your tactile or visual side, D is three frets up the neck from B on the same string (three half steps).
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
It was kind of sad how BB kept going right until the end. I think the last show that was scheduled and then canceled was at my local Warner Theater.
 
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