Songs that will help you identify ascending intervals

Being able to recogise intervals when listening to a melody is incredibly valuable. A great way to anchor your perception of each interval is to use a famous song to remember how they sound, to remember the particular sound of each interval. So today I will give you at least one famous melody for the twelve intervals within the octave and one beyond the octave!

And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇

0:00 Introduction
1:52 Minor 2nd
2:47 Major 2nd
3:39 Minor 3rd
4:22 Major 3rd
5:34 Perfect 4th
6:03 Tritone
8:08 ToneGym
8:55 Perfect 5th
10:02 Minor 6th
11:54 Major 6th
12:52 Minor 7th
14:16 Major 7th
15:35 Octave
16:48 Intervals beyond the octave
19:02 Minor 9th
20:42 Outro

[Leftytinkatolli]

Fun fact: If you play the lowest and highest notes on a full-size piano, that interval is a Minor 52nd!

[necrozma]

Imagine taking a music theory exam and hearing someone singing "all around me are familiar faces" very quietly

[josephgriesemer]

Fun fact: A perfect fifth sounds similar to an octave because when played in produces an octave undertone or subharmonic of the fundamental note.

[robertoriggio]

"Take on Me" is brilliant. I always recognize the major seventh simply by its proximity to the octave, but that's a really great example that I had never thought of.

[antoineleroux]

Alright so... here's what I use:
Minor 2nd up & down: Eyes Wide Shut piano thing
Major 2nd up: Happy Birthday
Major 2nd down: Yesterday (Beatles)
Minor 3rd up: Seven Nation Army (White Stripes)
Minor 3rd down: Hey Jude (Beatles)
Major 3rd up: Oh, When the Saints
Major 3rd down: Big Ben chimes or Summertime (Gerschwin)
Perfect 4th up: Amazing Grace
Perfect 4th down: Under Pressure bassline (Queen)
Tritone up: The Simpsons
Tritone down: Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
Perfect fifth up: Star Wars theme
Perfect fifth down: Game of Thrones or Zelda themes
Minor 6th up: In my life intro(Beatles)
Minor 6th down: Love Story theme
Major 6th up: Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead)
Major 6th down: Il Était un Petit Navire
Minor 7th up: Original Star Trek Theme
Minor 7th down: Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock)
Major 7th up & down: Popular guitar intro (Nada Surf)
Octave up: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Octave down: Bulls on Parade (RATM)
Minor 9th up: Killing in the Name Bass thing (RATM)
And that's about it...

Good video!

[junglekiity]

The chorus of "Into the Unknown" actually uses an 11th! It's the interval the third time she sings "into the unknown" and is part of what makes the song feel so epic and dangerous.

[jacefairis]

fun fact: you can use Somewhere Over The Rainbow to identify the octave (some-where), the major sixth (way-up), *and* the minor sixth (there's-a).

[RoxonBenoit]

1:52 Minor 2nd - Jaws / Fur Elise
2:47 Major 2nd - Halo Theme/ Frere Jacques / Happy Birthday
3:39 Minor 3rd - Pure Imagination/ Mad World (All around me are familiar faces)
4:22 Major 3rd - Subway Surfer / Wipe Wipe Wipe It Down Wipe /(descending) Golden Wind
5:34 Perfect 4th - Amazing Grace
6:03 Tritone - Regular Show / The Simpsons

8:55 Perfect 5th - Star Wars
10:02 Minor 6th - The Entertainer / (descending) Love Story
11:54 Major 6th - Chopin - Nocturne op.9 No.2
12:52 Minor 7th - Can't Stop / Somewhere
14:16 Major 7th - Take On Me
15:35 Octave - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
16:48 Intervals beyond the octave
19:02 Minor 9th - Killing in The Name

[acapellascience]

i was SURE you were gonna do Dr Who for the minor 9th

[jaredd]

"Into the Unknown" from Frozen features intervals of an octave, 9th, 10th, and even an 11th in its masterful chorus. In the BTS, the song authors specifically cite the unusual size of the interval as what gives the melody its emotional sense of breaking free from what's traditional or comfortable.

[GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

Also, Maj 6th: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean ( first two notes ).

[KasumiRINA]

Black Sabbath, the song, is G. Octave G and then mashing the tritone. The main riff is just TWO notes. Entirety of Metal is built on this interval but it's also called a "blue" note because the diminished fifth is the one note Blues scale adds to the Pentatonic.

So if it sounds like blBlues or Metal, it's the tritone.

[i.liberato]

David's Examples:
Minor 2nd: Jaws Theme - John Williams
Major 2nd: Frère Jacques - traditional
Minor 3rd: Mad World - Tears for Fears (But it Really should have been Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer)
Major 3rd: Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder / Let's Dance - David Bowie
Perfect 4th: Summer Nights - from Grease
Tritone: YYZ - Rush / The Simpsons Theme - Danny Elfman
Perfect 5th: Star Wars Title Crawl Theme - John Williams / ET Theme - John Williams
Minor 6th: Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty / The Entertainer - Scott Joplin
Major 6th: The Holly and the Ivy (Christmas song) - traditional
Minor 7th: Somewhere - Leonard Bernstein, from West Side Story / Bass from Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Major 7th: Take on Me - A-ha
Octave: Somewhere Over the Rainbow - from The Wizard of Oz
Minor 9th: Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine

[WorldNews]

Now I know about the tritone, I appreciate the irony of The Simpsons welcoming us with a heavenly choir and background using such a devillish sounding musical arrangement.

[kittycatcrunchie]

Ad: "Regardless of what you might think, interval exercises are ineffective. It's not just my opinio-*skipped*"
David: "This video is sponsored by ToneGym. Being able to identify an interval by ear..."

*Laughed so hard*

[robertmartin]

I've been playing guitar (badly, but I enjoyed it), for the past thirty years. Watched hundreds if not thousands of of videos. Got a basic understanding of music. Stumbled on your website and in six months I have improved a thousand fold. Thank you, your a true breathe of fresh air. Keep up the good work.

[RochRich.]

Minor 3rd
Me: Ah yes, Crazy Frog
David: Mad World
Me: That works too

[mdtexeira]

Was mentally preparing to hear you talking about the tritone being the Devil's chord, and then you mentioned Neely, and I was unreasonably happy about that.

[ashrose]

Such a great reference tool. I remember learning similar techniques in choir. We never learned the minor intervals just the major, though I can always recognize minor thirds. We were taught the “doorbell” for major thirds and the song “Taps” for major fourths.

John Williams REALLY likes his major fifths. The Superman Theme also uses that.

[jacobw]

Some songs that I use:
m3 - Seven Nation Army, Greensleeves
M3 - Oh When the Saints
P4 - Bridal Chorus ("Here comes the bride")
Tritone - Maria (West Side Story)
P5: Twinkle Twinkle
M6: Jingle Bells ("Dashing through the snow"), My Bonnie