To memorize these names of the intervals is really easy.
Your fourths and fifths are always called perfect at least when dealing with the major scale.
Your seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths are major.
When we are dealing with the major scale.
Now other intervals are definitely present.
Any of the major intervals can also be a minor interval by simply lowering it one fret.
So if we're going to make our major third for example if we are going to make that a minor third
we are simply going to lower it one fret or a half step.
So from G to B flat we've got a minor third as opposed to G to B we've got a major third.
Same with our second.
Major second.
Now if we're talking about a major sixth.
Here's your major sixth lowering it half step makes it a minor sixth.
Same with your seven.
Major seven.
Minor seven.
It's really helpful for me to look at intervals on one string because you start understanding the fret distance that it takes
to create any one of these intervals.
When you are playing an interval one note after the other it is called a melodic interval.
So if I'm playing one note followed by here's a minor third.
If I'm playing one note followed by the other that is considered a melodic interval.
If I'm playing the notes together like something like this that is called a harmonic interval.
Chords are built of harmonic intervals.
Scales are built of melodic intervals.
So let's look at harmonic intervals with this very basic G major scale.
This scale is going to be based in four frets starting on your second fret and then you're going to go all the way up to your fifth fret.
This is kind of also our introduction to position playing across multiple strings with scales we're going to learn one octave of a G major scale.
It's important with position playing that each finger be assigned a fret.
So in other words you're not going to be moving your first finger around to reach notes.
Any note that is played in your second fret is going to be played by your first finger and so on with all of your other fingers.
I am going to play this scale very slowly and then I will explain a little bit more.
Notice the symmetrical nature of where my fingers were.
This scale is going to start with your third fret second finger.
Fifth fret fourth finger this is on your low E.
Then you're going to switch strings.
Second fret A string.
Third fret.
Fifth fret.
Second fret on your D string.
Fourth fret.
Fifth fret.
So learning how to play it literally is great but the reason we are working on this is because we're going to identify our root which is G.
Then we're going to be playing all of the other intervals along with that root note.
This is really, really key as you start hearing the distance between notes.
Part of ear training is being able to listen to a song or whatever and identify if someone is singing for example
what the distance between those intervals are.
Here is our root note.
We're going to play a major second.
What I am doing is I'm playing my G and my open A.
That's how major second sounds played harmonically.
A major third. Now we're in the scale position. One, Two, Three there's my third.
Play those together and that's going to be the sound of a third.
Sound of a fourth.
Perfect fifth.
Sixth.
Major seven.
Octave.
So this is how you want to practice this.
You want to play your second note there harmonically with your open A.
You start getting a feel for all of these different intervals as they sound played together.