Music Theory: Perfect Fifths
- Apr 27
- 2 min read
Let’s meet perfect fifths. A perfect fifth is 7 half steps wide, sounds somewhat empty but pleasant, and is a fundamental building block of all modern music. Let’s learn why.
Two notes a fifth apart have a unique relationship. Take C and G for example. G is a fifth above C. If we were to play around randomly just using the white keys of a piano (go ahead, try it with me!) and eventually end our noodling on G, we’ll find something interesting. G does not feel final—it doesn’t feel like the end. If we play that G and then end on a C (either above or below the G) our improvised song now feels complete. Did you hear that satisfying ending when you landed on C? That’s what we call (in flowery music theory language) a dominant to tonic resolution.
Alright, pause. What does all that jargon mean? It’s simple enough. The dominant is the name for the note a fifth above our “home” note. We call the “home” note the tonic. The dominant (the note a fifth above the other note) loves to resolve to the tonic. We can apply this to any two notes a fifth apart. For instance, let’s start at E (our new tonic) and walk up 7 half steps to the fifth above E. There we find the note B natural, which we now know is our new dominant. When E is “home” in our music, B will always create a sense of wanting to go home. When we get to talking about chords and keys (i.e. C Major, F# Minor, etc.), this idea will be invaluable to keep in mind.
It’s important to understand the fixed relationship between tonic and dominant notes. G is always the dominant of C. B is always the dominant of E. However, C is not the dominant of G, and E is not the dominant of B. In a few weeks, we’ll learn about inverting intervals and this idea will be clarified and expanded upon.
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If you’re confused after all of this, that’s completely natural. The goal is to communicate these concepts simply and clearly, but the concepts themselves are neither simple nor clear. Confusion will be a part of the process. Keep exploring resources to help you better understand these concepts, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions!
To conclude, let’s look at the only listening reference you’ll ever need for perfect fifths: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. The first twinkle takes place on the tonic, the second twinkle up a fifth on the dominant. Sing it to yourself to get a feel for perfect fifths. We’ll add this trick it to our listening reference chart below.
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