Members NewGuyonGuitar Posted June 20, 2012 Members Share Posted June 20, 2012 Assuming this information is correct:1. The distance between two notes which are adjacent to each other is a half step or minor second.2. The distance between two strings (except B and G) is a perfect 4th or 2 and 1/2 steps. Question: If I start on the low E string, 5th fret, the note is an A, and I move down to the A string on the 5th fret which is a D note, I've moved a perfect 4th, THEN, if I move over to the 7the fret of the A string which is an E. Can I do some basic math and figure out the distance from the starting A note, to the ending E note is a 4th+ (2 and 1/2 steps) then over to the E a Major Third (2 half steps) so, 2 and 1/2 steps + 2 steps is = 4 and 1/2 steps or a Major 6th? Can I do that? Can I say that A on the 5th fret of the E string is a Major 6th from the E note on the 7th fret of the A string? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shu Posted June 20, 2012 Members Share Posted June 20, 2012 Almost. Count it in just semitones(half steps) to make it easier: 5th fret E string is the note A. To 5th fret A string (note D) is a perf. 4th which consists of 5 semitones. Then we go down 2 semitones/frets (major second interval, not third) to the note E and have a 7 semitone interval which is a perfect 5th. So to answer your question: Yes you can figure out the intervals with basic math, but you should learn which intervals consist of how many semitones exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NewGuyonGuitar Posted June 20, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JonR Posted June 20, 2012 Members Share Posted June 20, 2012 Assuming this information is correct: 1. The distance between two notes which are adjacent to each other is a half step or minor second. 2. The distance between two strings (except B and G) is a perfect 4th or 2 and 1/2 steps. Question: If I start on the low E string, 5th fret, the note is an A, and I move down to the A string on the 5th fret which is a D note, I've moved a perfect 4th, THEN, if I move over to the 7the fret of the A string which is an E. Can I do some basic math and figure out the distance from the starting A note, to the ending E note is a 4th+ (2 and 1/2 steps) then over to the E a Major Third (2 half steps) so, 2 and 1/2 steps + 2 steps is = 4 and 1/2 steps or a Major 6th? Can I do that? Can I say that A on the 5th fret of the E string is a Major 6th from the E note on the 7th fret of the A string? No. Your reasoning is not far off (as far as I can follow it) but you've arrived at a wrong conclusion, so something's gone wrong somewhere. The number of an interval (2nd 3rd etc) is always a count of note letters, with the first one being - er - the "1st". So from A is always a 4th above E, if it's in the same octave (EFGA). If it's in the next octave up, then you add 7, so that would be an 11th. If the A is below the E, then it's an "inverted 4th" (or 11th), but it's usually counted from the lower note (A), in which case it's a 5th (ABCDE). The 1/2 steps come in when identifying what type of 4th (or whatever) it is. This is where things get complicated and you just have to remember formulae. PERFECT INTERVALS Unison 4th 5th Octave MAJOR OR MINOR INTERVALS 2nd 3rd 6th 7th. The "perfect" intervals generally come in just one size, and sound very consonant and strong: the two notes blend well together. The 1-4-5-8 steps of a scale are the basic divisions shared by all the most popular scales. (If you want to pursue the math a little way, measure the distance between bridge and 12th fret = 1/2 string length; bridge to 7th fret = 2/3 string length; bridge-5th fret = 3/4 string length. This is no accident ) Perfect 4th = 5 half-steps Perfect 5th = 7 half-steps. The other intervals all come in two common sizes, a half-step different in each case. "Major" just means "bigger" and "minor" means "smaller". They vary in consonance or dissonance, but none are as smooth as "perfect" intervals. AUGMENTED and DIMINISHED When a perfect or major interval is enlarged by a half-step, it's augmented. When a perfect or minor interval is reduced by a half-step, it's diminished. You seem to know the sizes of the various intervals, so I won't list them, but the important thing is the note (letter) count first. So an interval of 3 half-steps might be a minor 3rd. But it might also be an augmented 2nd. Eg, in the A harmonic minor scale, the interval F-G# is an augmented 2nd. It just happens to sound like a minor 3rd, but that would be F-Ab, which is in a different scale. Many intervals are "enharmonic" - same size, same sound, different name: because the letter count is different. G#-D = diminished 5th; Ab-D = augmented 4th D-G# = augmented 4th; D-Ab = diminished 5th All are 6 half-steps, but the letter count is either 4 or 5, so they are either a half-step smaller or bigger than the perfect interval of the same number. Similarly, intervals with the same note count can be different sizes and (therefore) sound very different: G-F, G#-F, Gb-F#, G-F#, G#-F#, Gb-F#, G-Fb, G#-Fb, Gb-Fb = all 7ths, because GABCDEF is 7 letters (you disregard the #s and b's) But they are obviously all different kinds of 7th (not all of them very common), which is where you DO take account of #s and b's: Minor 7th (10 half-steps): G-F, G#-F#, Gb-Fb Major 7th (11 half-steps): G-F#, Gb-F Diminished 7th (9 half-steps); G#-F, G-Fb Augmented 7th (12 half-steps, ie sounds like an octave so is basically theoretical only): Gb-F# Double diminished 7th (again, pretty much non-existent): G#-Fb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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