Music Theory: Introduction to Minor and Major Seconds
- Mar 18
- 2 min read
Welcome to the first true installment in our series on intervals. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s jump right in!
As a refresher, an interval refers to the relationship between any two notes. Before we can get into the real meat and potatoes, however, we need to ask ourselves: What is the relationship between a note and itself? Consider the first note in our alphabet, A. If I play an A on the piano and then sing that very same A, I have technically created an interval (though to our ears, it may sound like one note). That interval is known as a unison, two notes of the same pitch that are sounded at the same time.
Boring, right? So let’s get into the real stuff. If you play an A on the piano, and then the very next note (B-flat), we get what we call a “half step.”
If you were to begin alternating back and forth between A and B-flat with the mystique of a peckish water-dwelling carnivore, you may begin to hear the theme of Jaws. What happens if you move the B-flat up to a B natural? The impending doom of the shark is replaced by the middling terror of a room full of non-singers chanting your name over a flaming pastry. Both are relatively unpleasant, but they aren’t quite the same.
To recap, we found out the interval of A to B-flat is called a half step. Then, by going up to B instead of B-flat, we’ve doubled the distance into what we call a whole step. Our half step is the smallest stepping stone commonly used in western music. We can find half steps by walking up the piano key by key or up the guitar fret by fret.
You may be thinking, “Hey! How did we get to talking about two-stepping and what not? What happened to seconds?”
Great question. While we have the useful building-block names of half steps and whole steps, we also need the intervallic names commonly used when discussing harmony. In this new context, half steps are called minor seconds and whole steps are called—can you guess it?—major seconds. As we continue on in this series, keep in mind that minor = smaller and major = bigger. This will be important.
Alrighty, that’s enough for today. Did you survive? If you’ve made it this far, then you can be confident you’ll make it the rest of the way. We’ll get there one (half)step at a time!
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