Intervals in music play a very important role. Musical intervals - the fundamental principle of harmony, the "building material" of the work.
All music is composed of notes, but one note is not music yet - just like any book is written in letters, but the letters in themselves do not carry the meaning of the work. If we take the units of meaning larger, then in the texts these will be words, and in a piece of music - consonance.
Harmonic and melodic intervals
The consonance of two sounds is called interval, and these two sounds can be played, both together and in turn, in the first case the interval will be called harmonic, and in the second - melodic.
What means harmonic spacing and melodic spacing? The sounds of the harmonic interval are taken simultaneously and therefore merge into a single consonance - harmonywhich can sound very soft, and maybe sharp, prickly. In melodic intervals, sounds are played (or sung) in turn - first one, then the other. These intervals can be compared with two connected links of a chain - any melody consists of such links.
The role of intervals in music
What is the essence of intervals in music, for example, in a melody? Imagine two different melodies and analyze their very beginning: let them be well-known children's songs. "Like a hill, under a mountain" and "A Christmas tree was born in the forest."
Let's compare the beginning of these songs. Both tunes start with a note. "before", but develop in completely different ways. In the first song, we hear that the melody is going up the steps in small steps - first from a note before to note rethen from re to mi etc. But on the very first words of the second song, the melody immediately jumps upwards, as if jumping across several steps at once ("in the forest" - move from to to la). Indeed, between notes before and a would fit still perfectly calm re mi fa and salt.
Movement up and down the steps and jumps, as well as the repetition of sounds at the same height - that's all musical intervalswhich ultimately make up the total melodic figure.
By the way. If you have taken to study musical intervals, then you probably already know the notes and now understand me well. If you do not know the notes yet - read the article "Note for beginners music."
Spacing properties
You have already understood that the interval is a certain gap, the distance from one note to another. Now let us figure out what this distance can be measured, especially since it's time to find out the names of the intervals.
Each interval has two properties (or two values) - this is step and tone value. The step value depends on how many musical steps does the interval cover - one, two, three, etc. (and the sounds of the interval are also considered). Well, the tonal value refers to the composition of specific intervals - the exact the number of tones (or semitones) that fit in the interval. These properties are sometimes called differently - quantitative and qualitative quantity their essence does not change.
Musical intervals - names
For the name of the intervals used Latin numeralsThe name is determined by the properties of the interval. Depending on how many steps the interval covers (that is, a step or quantity value), the names are given:
1 - prima
2 - second
3 - third
4 quart
5 - quint
6 - sixth
7 - septim
8 is an octave.
These Latin words are used for the name of the intervals, but it’s still more convenient to write digital signs. For example, a quart can be designated by the number 4, a sixth by the number 6, etc.
Intervals are clean (h), small (m), large (b), reduced (mind) and increased (SW). These definitions are based on the second property of the interval, that is, the tone composition (tone or quality value). These characteristics are attached to the name, for example: a clean fifth (abbreviated as h5) or a small septim (m7), a large third (bz), etc.
Pure intervals are pure prima (p1), pure octave (p8), pure quarta (p4) and pure fifth (p5). The seconds (m2, B2), tertiary (m3, B3), sexty (m6, b6) and septima (m7, b7) are small and large.
The number of tones in each interval must be remembered. For example, in pure intervals as follows: in an example, 0 tones, in an octave 6 tones, in a quart - 2.5 tones, and in a quinte - 3.5 tones. To repeat the theme of tones and semitones - read the articles "Alteration Signs" and "What are the Piano Keys", where these questions are discussed in detail.
Intervals in music - results
In this article, which could be called a lesson, we have dismantled intervals in music, found out what they are called, what properties have, and what role they play.
In the future, you are waiting for the expansion of knowledge on this very important topic. Why is she so important? Because musical theory is the universal key to understanding any musical work.
What to do if you could not figure out the topic? The first is to relax and read the whole article again today or tomorrow, the second is to look for information on other sites, the third is to contact us in the VKontakte group or ask your questions in the comments.
If everything is clear, then I am very happy! At the bottom of the page you will find buttons of various social networks - share this article with your friends! Well, after that you can relax a bit and watch a cool video - pianist Denis Matsuev improvises on the theme of the song “A Christmas Tree was born” in the styles of various composers.
Leave Your Comment