EPISODE 10
EAR TRAINING FOR INTERVALS
HOST- Jeremy Burns, Matthew Scott Phillips
GENRE- Ear Training
DURATION- 21:12
BUMPER MUSIC "854 Interval Blvd" (Area 47)
ANNOUNCER- Mike Cunliffe
DESCRIPTION
Perk up your ears and get ready for more ear training. Being able to hear and identify simple intervals is the gateway to ear training excellence! If you've been through our theory episode on intervals (Ep. 09), you can just sit back, listen and experience the intervals and their characteristics.
KEY WORDS
INTERVAL- The distance between two notes, harmonically or melodically. An interval consists of two components: 1) NUMBER and 2) QUALITY.
UNISON- When two instruments play the same pitch, often at the same time. For example, if a pianist and a violinist are both playing A440, then they are said to be playing in UNISON.
PERFECT INTERVAL- Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 4th, 5th and 8th (unison) scale degrees. These note are the same in both major and minor keys.
MAJOR INTERVAL- Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th scale degrees in the MAJOR scale.
MINOR INTERVAL-Typically, the distance (from the root note) to the notes that land on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th scale degrees in the MINOR scale.
AUGMENTED INTERVAL- When a MAJOR interval is raised by a half step.
DIMINISHED INTERVAL- When a MINOR interval is lowered by a half step.
SIMPLE INTERVAL- An interval that spans the space of 1 octave.
COMPOUND INTERVALS- An interval that spans the space beyond 1 octave.
EXAMPLES
MINOR 2nd (m2)
-The Jaws Theme Song (John Williams)
-The first 2 notes of "Hard Day's Night" (The Beatles)
-Here we see A and Bb. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MINOR 2nd.
MAJOR 2nd (M2)
-Between the 1st and 2nd notes of the major scale.
-Between the 2 and 3rd note of "Yankee Doodle" (George M. Cohan)
-Here we see A and B. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MAJOR 2nd.
MINOR 3rd (m3)
-The first two notes of "Greensleeves" (traditional)
-Between the 2nd and 3rd notes of "Brahms Lullaby" (Johannes Brahms)
-Here we see A and C. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MINOR 3rd.
MAJOR 3rd (M3)
-Between "say" and "can" of the "Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key)
-The 1st two notes of "When The Saints Go Marching In" (traditional Christian hymn)
-Here we see A and C#. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MAJOR 3rd.
PERFECT (P4)
-The first two notes of "The Bridal Chorus" (Richard Wagner)
-The first 2 notes of "Auld Lang Syne" (Robert Burns)
-Here we see A and D. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a PERFECT 4th.
TRITONE (TT)
-The first two notes of "Maria" (Leonard Bernstein)
-The first 2 notes of "The Simpsons Theme" (Danny Elfman)
-Here we see A and D#. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a TRITONE.
PERFECT 5th (P5)
-The first two notes of the "Main Theme/Overture" of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (John Williams)
-Between the 1st and 2nd "twinkles" of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" a.k.a ""Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman" (M. Bouin)
-Here we see A and E. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a PERFECT 5th.
MINOR 6th (m6)
-The first two notes of "Go Down Moses" (Negro spiritual)
-Between the 3rd and 4th notes of "The Entertainer" (Scott Joplin)
-Here we see A and F. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MINOR 6th.
MAJOR 6th (M6)
-The first two notes of "My Bonnie" (Scottish traditional)
-The first two notes of the NBC jingle.
-Here we see A and F#. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MAJOR 6th.
MINOR 7th (m7)
-The first two notes of the original theme from Star Trek (Alexander Courage)
-Happens at the word "Ford" in the Ford jingle, "Have You Driven A Ford Lately?" (Paul Hoffman)
-Here we see A and G. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MINOR 7th.
MAJOR 7th (M7)
-The first two notes of the chorus from the song "Take On Me" (A-Ha)
-The first two notes of the opening guitar riff of "Popular" (Nada Surf)
-Here we see A and G#. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MAJOR 7th.
OCTAVE (P8)
-The first two notes of the Wizard of Oz's "Over The Rainbow" (Harold Arlen)
-The first two notes of the chorus from "Singing In The Rain" (Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown)
-Here we see A and F#. The INTERVAL between these two notes is that of a MAJOR 6th.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
-Diminished and augmented octaves can occur in music, though not as often as their minor 7th and minor 9th equivalents.
-Try and learn your intervals by using numeric scale degrees as well as solfége:
(Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do).
-While training your ears, don't forget to engage your theory brain. For example, not a lot of songs begin with a MAJOR 7th. However, it is very distinguishable by its tendency to want to resolve up a half step to the tonic.
-Use songs you know well as references for interval recognition. Even better yet, compose your own melodies that feature these intervals!
-When you hear a harmony, try to separate the notes within as a melody. Sing them up and down.
-Get used to listening for dissonance levels. But be careful when using dissonance levels to identify intervals. This is because intervals share similar dissonance levels with their inversions (the perfect 4th and the perfect 5th, for example).