Interval Shapes

The guitar is a pattern-oriented instrument. That is, notes form readily identifiable
shapes, or patterns, on the fretboard. And each of these shapes has its own particular
sound or quality. So what's the significance of this? Well,. . . this is key to unlocking
the secrets of the fretboard, developing your ear for learning how to play songs simply
by hearing them, the key to knowing exactly where on the fretboard to find the sounds
that you hear in your own imagination.. It's important. It's something you should
know. In fact, it's critical if you take your guitar playing seriously. So let's take a
closer look at this whole shape thing and see if we can make some sense out of it.

Note that the term Dyad just means two notes played together as a chord.

Getting Started:

Fig. 1 shows each two-note shape based on the pitch of A up to the octave. These are
called intervals. Now before you blank out staring at all these technical interval
names, keep in mind that you don't have to memorize them all just yet. This is mainly
for reference. This is so you can see them all lined up together and find their names
quickly.

As you play through them, notice how they grow a half-step (one fret) taller each
time, The first interval, unison, consists of two notes of the same pitch. Moving up
one half step, or one fret, we arrive at the minor second interval. Notice the two
different shapes of the minor second depending on whether it is played on two
different strings or on the same string. Next is the major second, which also has two
different shapes. Continue on through the rest of the intervals--minor third, major
third, perfect fourth, diminished fifth, perfect fifth, minor sixth, major sixth, minor
seventh, major seventh and octave.
As you've just seen, notes may sometimes fall on the same string. Now, two notes on
the same string can't be played together at the same time, of course. This points to
another important aspect of intervals. They can appear either with the notes sounding
simultaneously, as in a chord, or they can appear with the notes following one another,
in sequence. When the notes are played together, we call it a harmonic interval, and
when the notes are played in sequence, we say it is a melodic interval.
We should also point out another set of terms often used in describing intervals before
we move on, and that is dissonance and consonance. Notes that do not blend together
nicely--that is, they sound unstable or "messy" when played together--are said to be
dissonant. Notes that do blend together well are consonant. A more distorted guitar
sound will accentuate the dissonant qualities of intervals, but in general, unisons,
octaves, fourths, fifths, thirds and sixths are considered consonances, while seconds,
sevenths and diminished fifths are dissonances.

Now that you're armed with the basics, you're ready for battle, So let's tear into each
shape in detail, starting with the ever-present power chord, perfect fifth.
Fifths, Fourths, Octaves and Unisons:

The most common shape played on the guitar is undoubtedly the perfect fifth.The
power chord that defined the sound of rock music, it's the basic two note power chord
found at the heart of so many rock and metal tunes. It has a rather hollow or stark
sound and gives us a powerful consonance. Among the many possible examples we
could cite that rise perfect fifths is the opening progression of the Offspring's "Self
Esteem," shown in Figure 2, below. Notice the consistent shape of the fifth dyads (two
note chords) in the A5, F5, C5 and G5 power chords.

Next, let's hunt for some perfect fourths. If you take the typical three string power
chord shape and omit the bottom root note--presto! You have the interval shape of a
perfect fourth. Figure 3, below, shows this graphically.

Figure 4 is Deep Purple's classic, "Smoke on the Water" riff, which employs these
fourth-dyad power chords. Fourths are somewhat similar in sound quality to fifths in
that they also have a certain "hollowness," or lack of colour. But fourths have a
thicker, somewhat unresolved interaction between the notes. (If fourths are played
near the low end of the guitar register, they become quite dissonant.) Play fifth and
fourth intervals alternately and compare their different vibrations
A typical intro progression in fourths

Our third target is the octave shape. If you look again at the three string power chord
shape back in Fig. 3, above, you'll notice that still one more interval can be found
lurking within that pattern. It's the octave shape, spotted by skipping the string in the
middle and going from the lowest note directly to the highest note. A characteristic of
octave intervals is that both notes will have the same letter name. The opening guitar
line of Jimi Hendrix's tune "Fire" employs octaves, as shown in Figure 5, below. To
play octave intervals harmonically like this, simply mute the middle string and strike
the three strings together. Listen for the relatively thin quality of octaves, as the wave
form of the higher note fits perfectly within that of the lower note. Other great
examples of octave playing include the work of jazz great Wes Montgomery, as well
as music by Steve Vai ("Big Trouble"), Paul Gilbert ("Anything for You") and Stevie
Ray Vaughan ("Riviera Paradise").
The riff from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" Figure 6 (below) shows octaves at
work in a melodic context. Notice how the quality of the interval is transformed when
it appears as a melodic leap instead of a chord dyad.

Closely related to the octave interval is the unison interval. Two notes in unison are
not only the same letter name, they are also found in the same register. In other words,
they are the same pitch. Unison intervals are common in blues-influenced licks, often
in conjunction with string bending. But they may also appear through the use of open
strings, with no bending involved. The opening of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and
Joy," as shown in Figure 7 demonstrates this.
At this point we've covered the so-called perfect intervals: the fifth, fourth, octave,
and unison. These all fit together nicely, and you can think of them as belonging to a
family, or group.

The Diminished Fifth:

The flattened (diminished) fifth, or sharpened (augmented) fourth, is the heavy

interval. Also known as the tritone, the twisted sound of this interval can be heard
working its wonders throughout the metal vocabulary. As a harmonic interval, it gives
us the strongest dissonance.

Listen for its dissonant character in Satriani's "Crushing Day" in Figure 8, below. You
can't miss it. Although the shape is just one fret away from the perfect fifth, the sound
is worlds apart. The riff tosses you back and forth, from the clearest consonance to the
harshest dissonance. For more on diminished fifths, see the lesson on dissonance
The opening of Rush's classic instrumental "YYZ" gives us an excellent example of
the melodic use of the diminished fifth, as shown in Figure 9, below. Here you'll
notice its odd melodic quality instead of its grinding harmonic dissonance. Listen for
the characteristically odd melodic leap and overall feeling of tension and lack of clear
direction or foundation. Other prominent examples of the tritone in a melodic context
can be heard within the main riff of Metallica's 'Enter Sandman," as well as at the end
of each verse line of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box."
Figure 10, Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" draws on the darkest aspects
of this interval by building power chords onto the twisted, melodic diminished fifth.
This type of melodic usage of the diminished fifth interval has become a mainstay of
the heavier rock styles. The music of Metallica is full of them. For example, listen to
the verse riff of "Sad but True" for another demonstration.

Thirds and Sixths:

Now let's move on to the more colourful intervals - thirds and sixths. Look for the
melodic appearance of a minor third between F# and A, bracketed within the main riff
of Nirvana's "Come As You Are" (Figure 11, below). It may not be immediately
apparent due to the fact that A is played as an open string, but if you hold one finger
over the nut at the A string, you will readily see the minor third shape emerge. Keep in
mind that open strings don't really change any of these interval shapes. They simply
enable you to play one of the notes without fingering it. The same effect occurs with
the perfect fifth, also bracketed, incorporating the open low E string. The fifth shape
and minor third shape form a kind of mirror image of one another. Notice their
similar, yet opposite, patterns.

The Scorpions' classic "The Zoo" utilizes a harmony in parallel thirds, meaning that
each note is harmonized with another note a third above it within the key.
Consequently, it uses both major and minor third shapes (Figure 12, below). Listen as
the harmonized thirds of the riff move down and back up the scale. The minor thirds
seem darker than the major third, which feels stronger and brighter. Other similar
examples of parallel thirds include the main themes of The Beatles' "And Your Bird
Can Sing" and Yngwie's "Black Star."

Sixths are closely related to thirds. In fact, thirds can be transformed into sixths by
inverting them; that is, raising the bottom note an octave, thereby putting it on top of
the other note and, in effect, turning the interval upside down, Specifically, a major
third inverted becomes a minor sixth. This is shown graphically in Figure 13, below.

Now if we consider this major third, A-C# (shown in Fig. 13), to be part of an A major
chord (incomplete) for a moment, then its inversion -- the minor sixth -- is likewise
part of an A major chord. The only difference is that the C# is on the bottom and the
root, A, is on the top. Chords with their third (the chord tone a third above the root) on
the bottom like this are said to be in first inversion and are written with a slash
symbol. So this minor sixth shape can be used as a first inversion A major chord, or
A/C# (read "A over C# ").

Minor sixths are quite often used as first inversion major chords as shown above.
Figure 14, below, shows this chord -- first inversion A major -- as a minor sixth shape
at work in the chorus riff of Van Halen's "Feel Your Love Tonight." Notice how the
minor sixth dyad sounds as though it wants to pull toward a perfect fifth, which is
exactly what it does in this case, as the lower note moves up one fret to form the
following D5 power chord.

Next we come to the major sixth shape. This interval is most commonly seen within
the basic blues comping figure. Incorporated by early roots rockers like Chuck Berry
and Elvis, blues comping figures spread throughout the rock idiom. They appear
commonly in the music of the Beatles, the Stones, Clapton, Aerosmith and Kiss, for
example. In Figure 15, below, you can see the basic sixth comping figure, which
alternates between fifths and major sixths, in the Beatles' classic "Come Together

Seconds and Sevenths:

Finally, we arrive at seconds and sevenths, our last set of intervals. A minor second is
a one-fret interval, also known as a half step. A major second is a two-fret interval, the
same as a whole step. Figure 16 (below) shows the verse riff from Metallica's "Enter
Sandman," which uses both a minor 2nd and a major 2nd in a melodic context. The
minor second is found in the root movement between E5 and F5, while the major
second occurs between E5 and F#5.

The minor seventh is one whole step less than an octave. Figure 17 (below) is Alice in
Chains' driving groove from "Man in a Box." It contains a perfect example of the
minor seventh in a harmonic context. Listen for its characteristic flavour, slightly
unsettled yet firmly attached to its E foundation.

And last, but not least, we arrive at the major seventh -- just a half step less than an
octave. Metallica's "One," shown in Figure 18 (below), demonstrates this nicely in the
2nd and 4th measures
Well, that covers all the interval shapes within the octave. Now, as you learn riffs and
songs from this point on, mentally take notice of the shapes you see, and you'll begin
to get a better feel for the distinct qualities of each interval shape. Ultimately this will
enable you to visualize how riffs are played on the guitar even before you touch your
instrument!

During the 16th century an elaborate system called musica ficta (falsified music) was
created in which dissonances (notes that clash) and other "crimes against the ear"
were avoided by altering the offending notes one half-step. The early church even
referred to the extremely dissonant tritone interval as the 'diabolus in musica'
(literally, the devil in music). The tritone's ugly turbulence was seen as the incarnation
of evil, and represented the seething chaos lying beneath our mortal reality.
But times have changed. After more than four centuries of musical progress, these
"crimes against the ear" sound fairly interesting to the modern ear. Today, dissonance
is no longer relegated to the confines of Hades--it's an accepted musical tool, used to
create harmonic tension. And since dissonance creates tension, it's not at all surprising
that it's found at the core of today's most tense and aggressive music, thrash metal.

Dissonance is easy to hear. Figure 1, below, demonstrates a perfect consonance (notes

that blend together well); and then, at the other end of the spectrum, a strong
dissonance in this case, the tritone. Listen for its tell-tale unsettledness. Distortion will
accentuate this aspect even more. Figure 2, below, shows all the intervals within an
octave ('simple' intervals). I've indicated which ones are dissonances and which ones
are consonances.
Dissonances can reveal themselves in two different ways: harmonically or
melodically. If dissonant notes ring together, it's called harmonic dissonance. That's
what you heard in Figure 1. But if you play the notes in sequence, one after another, it
creates a melodic dissonance. In this case, there isn't any turbulent clashing of notes.
Instead, you hear an odd or disjointed-sounding leap between the notes. You'll likely
find this device lurking within the more interesting riffs you meet.

Figure 3, from "All Things Repulsive," and Figure 4, from "Bug Guts," demonstrate
each type of dissonance in action. An asterisk with an "M" or an "H" directly below it
denotes a case of melodic or harmonic dissonance, respectively. Figure 3 abounds
with that "diabolus in musica," the diminished fifth. (E to Bb in this case.) Figure 4
uses both types of dissonance.

Try mixing these dissonances with some ear-twisting chromatics, atonal ideas and a
few unusual accents.