How to Identify Perfect, Major, and Minor Intervals

Flashcards to help identify and understand the different types of musical intervals, including perfect, major, and minor.

Perfect Interval

An interval where the notes are in perfect harmony, found in a major scale.

Major Interval

An interval that consists of a specific number of half steps—greater than a perfect interval.

Minor Interval

An interval that is a half step smaller than a major interval.

Half Step

The smallest interval used in Western music, equal to one semitone.

Tonic

The first note of a scale, which serves as the reference note for other intervals.

Tritone

An interval that is an augmented fourth or diminished fifth, spanning six half steps.

Enharmonic

Intervals that sound the same but are notated differently, such as an augmented fourth and a diminished fifth.

Accidental

A note that is not part of the scale, such as sharps or flats, that modifies a note.

Memory Method

Refers to memorizing the number of half steps in each interval to identify them.

Interval Identification

The process of determining the size and quality of an interval between two notes.