Lesson 2 - Octave and other Intervals

Recap

• String overlaps

• Name those gaps

Intervals

• Spoiler: P4 & a M3

• Harmonic Series

  • Chrome Music Lab

• Multiples of the Root

Octave

• A Cycle - like days of the week

• Note Identity

• Milestones for all the frequencies humans can hear: 20Hz to 20kHz

  • Hz = Hertz (cycles per second)

• Oct = “Eight”

Dividing the Octave

• Western Music chose 12-Steps

• Middle Eastern (Turkish) has 53 commas

  If interested in this topic, you can go howmbase.com and find “Wade” in Season 2. He traveled all over the world learning this kind of thing. You can also put the podcast RSS in any podcatcher.

• Africa has 5 or 7 equal divisions (new to me)

Scales

• No musical to play all 12-notes

• We pick and choose a few (usually 7)

• Stutter steps - not purely logical

Naming Notes

• Only 7: A - G

• Access the remaining 5 with modifiers

  • Flat(♭) = Slightly Left

  • Sharp(﹟) = Slightly Right

Intervals within the Octave

• Unison (1), Octave (8) hey! octave is eight!

• Back to the Harmonic Series

• Root x3 = P5

• P4 = Inversion of P5

• The Power Chord!

Minor & Major Mods for Intervals

• Thirds - m3 and M3

• Sixths - m6 and M6

• Sevenths - m7 and M7

• Seconds - m2 and 2

  • M2 is a bad name, so is m2

Diabolus in Musica

• Last note is between P4 and P5

• Aug 4 or Dim 5

• Tritone

Key Takeaways

• Intervals as Relationships Between Notes

• Octave Given by Physics

• Western Music’s 12 Divisions

• Letter Names & Modifiers

• P4 (most common) and M3 (odd man out) on Guitar String Gaps

Application

Filling in the Power Chord

Let’s build out the A minor Scale starting with the all familiar power chord.

In the power chord you already intimately know the P5 above the Root and the Octave too. Now let’s use those as reference points to fill in the rest of the scale.

• Starting with P4. Then the m3, m6, m7, and 2.

Finding these notes is a lot easier by using what you already know.

• P4 is just under the P5.

• The m6 is above the P5.

• The m3 can easily be found based off the Root, esp if you use two strings.

• Likewise the 2 is right above the Root.

• And close behind the Root (or the Octave) is your m7.

The Major Scale

You can use the same method to discover the notes in the A Major Scale. No need to remember sharps or flats, only the shape. Simply find the M3, M6, and M7 instead of their minor versions.

Note: Scales are not so rigid as to be only Major or Minor. That distinction quickly breaksdown as you learn more about theory. This practice is merely to help you easily find all 12-notes within an Octave. In fact, you should play the Tritone and the flat 2 to hear them.