The type of intervals this post will be discussing are ones which show you the distance between two notes, not the rest breaks in an opera! Intervals can be melodic or harmonic. If they’re melodic, they can ascend or descend. And, some intervals only exist in theory. However, this type we’ll talk about in a later post.

Melodic interval

Here’s an example of a melodic interval commonly used in songs, a major 2nd:

It is the first ascending interval you hear in Happy Birthday:

You also hear the major 2nd descending as the first interval of the main melody in Yesterday by the Beatles:

Harmonic interval:

Here an example of an interval which defines jolly pieces of music, the major third:

A well-known example of parallel thirds (a progression in which the interval of a third is followed by another third between the same two musical parts) is the chorus from the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby:

The backing vocals provide the harmony, and may not be that noticeable the first time you listen to it, due to the main vocal line being magnified.

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