Understanding Basic Music Theory, 2013a

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Comparison of Dorian and Minor Scales
Figure 4.24: You may also nd it useful to compare the dorian with the minor scales from Figure 4.21
(Comparing Types of Minor Scales). Notice in particular the relationship of the altered notes in the
harmonic, melodic, and dorian minors.
4.5 Interval 34
4.5.1 The Distance Between Pitches
The interval between two notes is the distance between the two pitches (Section 1.1.3) - in other words, how
much higher or lower one note is than the other. This concept is so important that it is almost impossible
to talk about scales (Section 4.3), chords (Chords, p. 80), harmonic progression (Chords, p. 80), cadence
(Section 5.6), or dissonance (Section 5.3) without referring to intervals. So if you want to learn music theory,
it would be a good idea to spend some time getting comfortable with the concepts below and practicing
identifying intervals.
Scientists usually describe the distance between two pitches in terms of the dierence between their
frequencies 35 . Musicians nd it more useful to talk about interval. Intervals can be described using half
steps and whole steps (Section 4.2). For example, you can say "B natural is a half step below Cnatural", or
"E at is a step and a half above Cnatural". But when we talk about larger intervals in the major/minor
system (Section 4.1), there is a more convenient and descriptive way to name them.
34 This content is available online at .
35 "Frequency, Wavelength, and Pitch"
Available for free at Connexions