Intervals explained for kids, with songs to remember each one

An interval is the distance between two notes. Musicians name intervals with numbers: a second, a third, a fourth, and so on up to an octave. To find the number, count the letter names from the lower note to the higher one, and include both ends. C up to E is a third, because you count C, D, E. Each interval has its own sound, and a familiar song is the easiest way to remember it.

How to count an interval

Count the bottom note as one.

• C to D is a second: C, D
• C to E is a third: C, D, E
• C to F is a fourth: C, D, E, F
• C to G is a fifth
• C to A is a sixth
• C to B is a seventh
• C to the next C is an octave, which means eight

On the staff, a second moves from a line to the next space, or from a space to the next line. A third moves from a line to the next line, or from a space to the next space.

Two notes, two ways

The two notes can be played one after the other, as in a tune. Or they can be played at the same time, as in a chord. The interval has the same name either way.

Big and small versions

Seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths each come in two sizes. The larger is called major and the smaller is called minor. A major third is four half steps. A minor third is three.

Fourths, fifths, and octaves have one main size, called perfect.

A song for each interval

Each song below begins with the interval named, going up.

Interval	Song that starts with it
Minor second	The two-note theme from the film Jaws
Major second	“Happy Birthday,” from the first note to the next different note
Minor third	Brahms’s Lullaby, from the first note to the next different note
Major third	“Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In”
Perfect fourth	“Here Comes the Bride”
Perfect fifth	“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” from the second note to the third
Major sixth	“My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean”
Octave	“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Different teachers use different songs. A song your child already sings is the best choice.

How each one sounds

Seconds are close and a little tense. Scales are made of them.

Thirds are sweet. Two voices singing in harmony are often a third apart.

Fourths and fifths are open and strong. Fanfares and horn calls use them.

Sixths are wide and warm.

Sevenths are tense and seem to want to move.

The octave sounds like the same note, higher.

Why intervals matter

For reading. A student who sees that the next note is “up a third” reads faster than one who names every note.

For playing in tune. String players and singers place each note by its distance from the last.

For the ear. Naming intervals by ear is part of the ear tests in music exams. RCM ear tests explained lists which intervals come at which level.

For chords. A chord is a stack of intervals. A major chord is a major third with a minor third on top.

Things to do together

Sing the songs. Sing the first two notes of each song in the table. Hold the second note and listen to the gap.

Name that interval. Play two notes on a piano, one after the other. Ask your child which song it sounds like.

Step, skip, leap. Play pairs of notes. A second is a step. A third is a skip. Anything bigger is a leap. Ask your child to step, skip, or jump to match.

Find them on the page. Open a piece of music. Point to two notes side by side and ask for the interval.

Stack a chord. Play C and E. Add G on top. Your child has built a chord from two thirds.

Draw them. On big staff paper for kids, draw a note. Ask your child to draw the note a third above it, then a fifth above it.

Print and play

The piano keyboard chart makes it easy to count the keys between two notes. For how intervals build scales, read major and minor scales explained. For singing intervals with hand signs, see solfege hand signs for kids. The full guide is music theory for parents.