TUESDAY, September 24, 2019

Measuring how far apart notes are…

The word “interval” is a musical term for the distance between two notes. An interval has a number, and that number talks about how many letters total including the bottom letter, the top letter, and all letters in between. Since this website is about playing the piano, we are talking about white keys. All distance in music is measured by white keys.

This is a pretty crude method, because between any two white keys the number of black keys in between varies according to which we pick. In order to be more specific about distance we have other ways of describing intervals more precisely. But to begin with you always want to know the number. Now matter how an interval is varied in a score, that number is still determined by the letters involved. Sharps, flats and naturals never change this number. So to learn intervals, learn the numbers first. There are melodic and harmonic intervals.

Harmonic intervals are played at the same time.

Melodic intervals are played separately. One note is hit first, the other comes later.