Shapes below are examples on C. The actual interval can be in any key.
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piano-trainer.appShapes below are examples on C. The actual interval can be in any key.
Recognizing intervals is the foundation of every other ear-training skill. A melody is a chain of intervals. A chord is a stack of intervals. The progression of a song is a sequence of intervals between roots. Get fluent here and the rest of ear training falls into place.
Once your ear knows what a perfect 5th sounds like (the opening of Star Wars), you'll spot it instantly in any song, in any key. Multiply that across 12 intervals and your transcription speed jumps dramatically.
Each interval has a universally known song that opens with that exact gap (Happy Birthday for a major 2nd, the Jaws theme for a minor 2nd, the Simpsons theme for a tritone). Toggle the mnemonics on, sing the song internally when you hear the interval, then identify it. After a few hundred reps, the mental song becomes automatic and you skip straight to the answer.
Perfect 4th, perfect 5th, perfect octave: these are the most stable, most recognizable intervals. Lock them down before adding 2nds, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths.
The tritone (TT, augmented 4th / diminished 5th) is famously hard to recognize because it sounds unstable. Add it once everything else feels solid, otherwise it pollutes your accuracy stats.
Ascending and descending intervals sound different to the ear. A perfect 5th up (Star Wars) and a perfect 5th down (Feelings, Flintstones) feel like two different intervals at first. Train both.
An interval is the distance in pitch between two notes. C to G is a perfect 5th (7 semitones). C to E is a major 3rd (4 semitones). The interval doesn't depend on the absolute pitch, only the gap.
P = Perfect (1st, 4th, 5th, 8ve). M = Major (2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th). m = Minor. TT = Tritone (also called augmented 4th or diminished 5th). These are the four interval qualities.
Most learners can identify perfect 5ths and octaves after a week. The full 12-interval set with reasonable accuracy takes 3-6 months of daily 10-minute sessions.
For interval recognition, no, the app plays the notes for you. MIDI helps for melodic dictation and chord dictation (where you replay what you hear). Click the answer cards here.
The theory page covers how intervals are constructed (counting semitones, naming conventions, why a P5 is "perfect" vs a M3 being "major") with audible examples and a piano you can try.