Theory Lesson - Diatonic Intervals

In this theory lesson we will look at intervals. Up to this point we have used whole steps and half steps to measure distance on the piano. This theory lesson will introduce us to measuring distance on the piano by intervals.

An interval is the distance between two notes on the piano. We count intervals from the lowest note to the highest note. Intervals are named by the number of the upper note. This will be based upon the scales we learned in the last lesson.

There are many different kinds of intervals including: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. These intervals fall under two categories: diatonic or chromatic. In this theory lesson we will be looking at diatonic intervals.

The diatonic intervals are either major or perfect. Perfect intervals fall on the 4th, 5th, and the octave of a scale. The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th are major intervals. This can; however, be carried into the next octave into 13ths and some musicians may even go further but 13ths will cover most of the music we cover at PianoVillage.com.

Watch the video for a short clip covering the key of C. Remember that the C  major scale contains all white notes as follows: