From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

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Intervals: Perfect and major

Intervals: Perfect and major

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

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Intervals: Perfect and major

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- All scales are made up of a series of intervals. An interval is the distance between two pitches. We've discussed a few intervals already. The octave. (piano music) (guitar music) Semitone or half-step. And the whole tone, or whole step. Intervals can be described in two ways. The first is horizontal or melodic, when two tones happen one after another in time. The second is vertical or harmonic, when two tones happen simultaneously, which is what happens when you play a chord. The smallest interval that occurs in Western music, as I mentioned earlier, is a semitone. It's important to note that in other musical systems around the world, there are further divisions of notes than the semi-tone. We refer to the visions that lie outside the 12 tone system as microtones. For example, in Raga, the classical Hindustani musical form, there are 26 notes that make up the octave. They use a different tuning system to…

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