12 Must-Know Music Intervals For Guitar Players

Are you struggling to understand music intervals as a guitarist?

This is something that boggled my brain for a while. But once I cracked the code on it, guitar parts in songs, music theory, and my ear training improved a lot. You see, most guitar players have never done any ear training before.  

It wasn’t something I ever did until I went to music school. And to make matters worse, not 1 in 1,000 guitar instructors knows how to properly teach it either. 

There are some so-called “ear training experts” out there. But they don’t have a complete step-by-step system from scratch, and they often go way too fast. They’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a beginner's mind when it comes to music and ear training.

This means that if a player is not already experienced or advanced, then they can easily end up stuck, frustrated, and spinning their wheels – just like I was. 

An interval is simply the distance between 2 notes. Below I want to dive into the 12 most common music intervals I think every guitarist should know, starting with… 

Minor 2nd

A minor 2nd is the smallest interval in Western music. It’s one half-step (one fret on the guitar). A great example of this is the first two notes of "Jaws." When played simultaneously, a minor 2nd creates a tense and dissonant sound. If you know your chromatic scale on guitar, this is also built entirely on minor 2nds. The first two notes in the melody of “Isn’t She Lovely” as recorded by Stevie Wonder is another example of a minor 2nd interval in action. 

Next, we have a…

Major 2nd

A major 2nd is two half-steps or two frets on guitar. This one has a more open sound compared to the minor 2nd. Think of the first two notes of "Happy Birthday," "You Really Got Me", or “Lean On Me”.

Minor 3rd

A minor 3rd is three half-steps or three frets on guitar. This interval gives a bluesy feel and is the key building block of minor chords. I like to think of the “Spoonful Riff", "Lullaby," or “Whole Lotta Love.” 

This now brings us to the…

Major 3rd

A major 3rd spans four half-steps or four frets on guitar. It has a bright and uplifting sound, and it’s essential in major chords. The beginning guitar riff to “Blister In The Sun” is a great example of this. So is “What a Wonderful World" and "Can't Buy Me Love."

Next, we have the almighty… 

Perfect 4th

A perfect 4th spans five half-steps or five frets on guitar. This interval has a stable and open feeling to it. A few examples are "Love Me Tender” and "Amazing Grace".

Tritone

A tritone spans six half-steps or six frets on guitar. This one has a highly dissonant sound. It was historically called the "Devil’s Interval." You can hear it in the blues scale, "The Simpsons" theme, and also “Purple Haze.”

Perfect 5th

A perfect 5th spans seven half-steps or seven frets on guitar. It sounds powerful and stable. It’s the basis of power chords. Three of my favorite examples are "Star Wars”,

"Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Blackbird". This music interval sounds regal to me. It’s almost as if you are looking down from a tall building and being comfortable. 

Minor 6th

A minor 6th spans eight half-steps or eight frets on guitar. This one has a somewhat dark and mysterious feel to it. One of my favorite riffs that uses this is "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer. It’s a deep groove, with a hint of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Clapton. "In My Life" by The Beatles starts off with a minor 6, and so does “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin.

Next up, we’ve got a… 

Major 6th

A major 6th spans nine half-steps or nine frets on guitar. It has an airy and neutral sound. This can be heard in the opening of the "NBC" theme or the classic holiday tune "It came upon a midnight clear".

From here, we start to get into larger intervals like a…

Minor 7th

A minor 7th spans ten half-steps or ten frets on guitar. To me this has a very bluesy sound to it. When added to a basic triad you get one of the bluesiest chords a dominant seventh. But a few examples of this in action are "Josie" and “Can’t Stop”

Two more. 

Next, we have a…

Major 7th

A major 7th spans eleven half-steps or eleven frets on guitar. This has a dissonant and unresolved or unstable quality to it. If you think about it, it’s like a minor second, but inverted. Two examples I love are the “Superman” theme and "Don't Know Why".

Finally, we have a…

Perfect Octave

A perfect octave spans twelve half-steps or twelve frets on guitar. It is the same note at a higher pitch and sounds completely stable. It’s one of the strongest-sounding intervals. A few of my favorite examples are "Somewhere over the Rainbow", "Money", and "My Sharona".

These intervals are used in all your favorite songs, and each one has a specific sound to it. If a player can’t hear what is going on in the music. It’s like they are trying to drive a car with the windshield all fogged up. But when you start to “tune up” your ear, this wipes away the fog and lets you see everything that is happening in sharp detail.

There is a specific way to learn ear training. There are measurable steps at every part of the journey. And once you get going, you'd be surprised how quickly you can develop the ability to play along with commercial jingles, theme songs, and anything you hear.

If you’ve struggled with this, then continue this lesson and go to www.jonmaclennan.com/goldenear and get your hands on my free ear training cheat sheet for guitar players.

Hope you enjoy!

Jon MacLennan