You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)
4.2
Intervals
4.2.1
Pitch Distances and the Smallest Interval in Western Music
So far, three intervals have made an appearance. Here are their names and pitch distances:
- Octave: Pitch distance between the first note and the eighth note of the major scale (or first note and 13th note of the chromatic scale)
- Semitone: Pitch distance between any two adjacent notes of the chromatic scale
- Tone: Pitch distance of two semitones
Other intervals exist, and they all have names, but not interesting ones like Natasha or Engelbert. Since the semitone is the smallest interval in Western music, you can measure the other intervals in pitch distances that are multiples of semitones.
Even the tone and the semitone have their own special alternative “interval” names.