Chapter 2:Intervals
Beyond the Octave
You don’t have to stop counting intervals when you get to the octave. Above the
octave are even more intervals—ninths, tenths, elevenths, and so on.
Intervals that span more than an octave are called compound intervalsbecause
they combine an octave with a smaller interval to create the larger interval. For
example, a ninth is nothing more than an octave and a second; an eleventh is an
octave and a fourth ... and so on.
The following table describes the first six intervals above the octave.
Compound Intervals
Interval Combines
Ninth Octave plus second
Tenth Octave plus third
Eleventh Octave plus fourth
Twelfth Octave plus fifth
Thirteenth Octave plus sixth
Fourteenth Octave plus seventhCompound intervals can have all the qualities of smaller intervals, which means
a compound interval can be (depending on the interval) major, minor, perfect,
augmented, or diminished.
Intervals and Half Steps
It might be easier for you to think of all these intervals in terms of half steps. To
that end, the following table shows how many half steps are between these
major and minor intervals.
Half Steps Between Intervals
Interval Number of Half Steps
Perfect unison 0
Minor second 1
Major second 2
Minor third 3
Major third 4
Perfect fourth 5
Augmented fourth 6
Diminished fifth 6
Perfect fifth 7
Minor sixth 8
Major sixth 923
continues