Intervals Cheat Sheet: Associating Songs with Intervals
Learning to recognize intervals is one thing. But recognizing them quickly — even while a song is playing and you’re actively identifying intervals — is something entirely different!
Counting up the Major or minor scale to determine an interval is, in my opinion, not ideal.
Firstly, it doesn’t help you internalize the “sound” of the interval. Secondly, it takes far too long.
To practice intervals effectively and familiarize yourself with their sound or “color,” mnemonics can be very useful, especially in the beginning.
While there are countless websites with similar lists, this guide aims to supplement those with examples and (hopefully) very well-known songs.
Intervals
Unison (Prime)
To recognize a unison (the same tone twice), play a note on your instrument, record it, and try to identify the same note on your instrument the next day.
Avoid mistaking octaves for unisons; aim to play the exact same tone as the previous day.
It doesn’t matter if it takes 3, 5, or even 10 tries. The goal is to determine whether you can hear that it’s the same note.
A good example is Happy Birthday.
The first two tones of the song are identical, forming a unison.
Minor Second (b2)
The minor second can be easily associated with Jaws.
Another popular mnemonic is Pink Panther.
Major Second (2)
For the major second, think of Happy Birthday or simply the Major Scale (Ionian).
Both start with a major second, making them easy to sing correctly. 😊
Minor Third (b3)
A universally known song: Seven Nation Army.
The melody starts with a minor third and even returns to it.
Note: The same note is played twice before transitioning to the minor third.
Major Third (3)
Morning Has Broken comes to mind immediately.
While the first three notes are an upbeat, you can clearly hear the major third in the opening interval.
Other examples include Oh, When the Saints and Kumbaya.
Perfect Fourth (4)
The quintessential example of a perfect fourth: Here Comes the Bride.
This well-known wedding song is a classic association for the fourth interval.
Augmented Fourth, Diminished Fifth, Tritone (#4, b5)
This interval, known by many names, features prominently in songs like Maria from West Side Story and various metal tracks.
My favorite example, however, is The Simpsons theme.
At the start, “The Simp-sooons” showcases the tritone perfectly before resolving to a perfect fifth.
Perfect Fifth (5)
Songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Can’t Help Falling In Love are great examples of the perfect fifth.
As a Star Wars fan, I’d personally choose the Star Wars Theme as my mnemonic! 🙂
Minor Sixth (b6)
It’s trickier to find a well-known example for the minor sixth, but a jazz standard like Black Orpheus comes to mind.
Alternatively, Lacrimosa by Mozart contains a minor sixth leap in “Laa-aa(here)-crimo-osa.”
Major Sixth (6)
Clearly: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean!
Other examples include Christmas songs like Jingle Bells and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, as well as Hush Little Baby.
Minor Seventh (b7)
The Winner Takes It All by ABBA starts with a minor seventh in the vocal refrain.
Major Seventh (7)
A good mnemonic for the major seventh is Take On Me.
Octave (8)
There are countless songs beginning with an octave. One of the best-known examples is Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Singing Practice
Try to sing these songs in your head without listening to them first. Form a mental image of how the intervals sound.
Also, pay attention to how clear or distinct some intervals sound compared to others.
For instance, a major seventh sounds much “sharper” than a perfect fifth. Yet, it works beautifully in Take On Me. However, if you play the root tone alongside a major seventh, it might sound “off,” even though the major seventh fits perfectly in many chords.
