How to derive Intervalls

Content of the Course

In this course you will learn how to derive intervalls.

Previous Knowlegde

Before you start this course you should already know:

• how do I read the treble clef?

• what are the names of the notes?

• what kind of intervals are there?

• where are the semitone steps in a C-major scale?

• what are accidentials and how do they work?

Duration of the Course

This cours will take you approximatly xxx hours to finish.

1) Look at the two notes in a stave and count up lines and spaces between them. Count including the bottom and the top note.

2) Add up lines and spaces that you counted.

Example

There are $4$ Spaces and $3$ Lines between the two notes in the picture to the right. Because $3+4=7$, the Interval is a seventh.

Determine where the 'natural' semitones are.

The natural semitones are between e-f and b-c. In the image below they are marked in a c-major scale.

Transfer the accidentals from the beginning of the line to the interval.

Depending in which key the piece is written from which you want to analyse an interval there are different accidentials at the beginning of the piece. Take those accidentials and move them directly in front of the interval.

Count the half and whole steps included in the interval

With your knowlegde about the natural semitones and the location of all the accidentials you can determine of how many half and whole steps the interval consists.

Putting all together

The more whole steps are in the intervall the larger is it. The largest number of whole steps next to each other is three.