Understanding Intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. Everything in music — chords, scales, melodies — is built from intervals. Master the 13 intervals and you can decode any piece of music by ear.
The Core Idea
Every pair of notes has an interval — measured in semitones (half-steps), which correspond to frets on a guitar. The 12 notes of Western music sit in a chromatic scale; the distance between any two of them is an interval. Intervals have names, qualities (major/minor/perfect), and emotional characters.
The 12 chromatic notes — each step = 1 semitone = 1 fret
Interval Explorer
Root note
Perfect 5th
Perfect interval · 7 semitones
A + 7 semitones
The most powerful, open interval in Western music. Perfectly stable. Sounds massive, ancient, and universal.
Single guitar string · each cell = 1 fret = 1 semitone · R = root · +7 = interval note
Perfect
Power chord = root + perfect 5th. On most adjacent string pairs: 2 frets up. The interval that drives the Circle of Fifths — go up a P5 twelve times and you return to the start.
- Power chords (5th chords)
- All major and minor chords
- Circle of Fifths navigation
- Open string drone tunings
All Intervals — Quick Reference
| Abbr | Name | Semitones | Consonance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | Perfect Unison | 0 | ||
| m2 | Minor 2nd | 1 | ||
| M2 | Major 2nd | 2 | ||
| m3 | Minor 3rd | 3 | ||
| M3 | Major 3rd | 4 | ||
| P4 | Perfect 4th | 5 | ||
| TT | Tritone | 6 | ||
| P5 | Perfect 5th | 7 | ||
| m6 | Minor 6th | 8 | ||
| M6 | Major 6th | 9 | ||
| m7 | Minor 7th | 10 | ||
| M7 | Major 7th | 11 | ||
| P8 | Perfect Octave | 12 |
Click any row to explore that interval above.
Essential Guitar Interval Shapes
These two-string patterns are the physical vocabulary of interval playing on guitar.
Power chord (P5)
Root on low E → 5th on A string: same fret + 2 up. The backbone of rock and metal rhythm playing.
Octave shape (P8)
Skip one string, go 2 frets up (3 frets on the G→B crossing). Classic Wes Montgomery and Hendrix technique.
Major 3rd (string pair)
Adjacent strings (E-A, A-D, D-G): 1 fret back on upper string. G→B: same fret (the exception). Country double-stop lick fuel.
Minor 3rd (string pair)
Adjacent strings (E-A, A-D, D-G): 2 frets back on upper string. Blues and minor key double-stop territory.
How Intervals Build Everything
Every chord is just a stack of intervals from a root note. Every scale is a sequence of intervals. Once you know your intervals, you can construct and analyze anything.
The Guitar Tuning Exception: G→B String
Standard guitar tuning uses perfect 4ths between all adjacent strings — except between the G (3rd) and B (2nd) strings, which are a major 3rd apart. This means all fretboard interval shapes shift by 1 fret when crossing that string pair. Every guitar player has to internalize this exception; it explains why chord shapes look different depending on which strings they span.
Hear intervals in action
Build chords and scales to hear how intervals stack — or explore chord theory to see how these distances create harmony.