Recognizing intervals

How the ear learns

You don’t recognize an interval by counting: you recognize its color, the way you recognize a face. So you need lots of short, regular listening, with the right answer straight after. That’s exactly what the exercise below does: it plays the two notes one after the other, then together, in a random key.

Ten minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday.

Level 1: the four landmarks

Minor third, major third, fifth, octave: the ones from the Intermediate course.

Level 2: seconds and the fourth

The minor second grinds (the Jaws theme), the major second is a simple step, the fourth sounds open, like a call.

Level 3: all of them

The new ones:

• the tritone (six half steps): unstable, unsettling, it wants to move;
• sixths: wide and singing, the major one bright, the minor one melancholy;
• sevenths: almost an octave, but not quite. The minor one sounds bluesy, the major one rubs hard.

Tips

1. Sing both notes before answering. Your voice feels distances.
2. Link each interval to the opening of a melody you know well, ideally a song from your childhood.
3. Check on the guitar when you get it wrong: play the two intervals you mixed up, one after the other.

You’ve got it when…

• You recognize thirds, the fifth and the octave 9 times out of 10
• You have a personal reference (a familiar melody) for at least six intervals
• You recognize 8 intervals out of 10 at level 3