Intervals For Bass Beginners - Minor 3rds

Paul Wolfe: Hi I'm Paul Wolfe from how-to-play-bass.com and in this video article we are going to look at the interval of a minor third. We'll find out how many semi tones in the interval of a minor third. We are going to find out where minor third is found in the major scale, now we are going to find out what it sounds like ascending and descending and we are going to look at some melodic motif that you can use if you are doing any ear training.

So the distance between two notes that are minor third apart is three semi tones. So if you go to your piano that's two notes that are three notes of apart. So in this example if you go from C to D flat that's one, to D that's two to E flat, that's three notes and C and E flats on a minor third apart. Or in this example if you go from C sharp to D which is one and then to D sharp which is two, and then three is A and C sharp and A are a minor third apart. We look at the C major scale we got it here graphically represented on a piano cable which is the great way of saying this C major scale. Because it's kind of the template western music and it's all the white notes. And therefore instances of the minor third not a occur with in this major scale.

The first one is from the second degree of the scale to the fourth degrees which are the notes D to F. The second instance of a minor third occurring are from the third to the fifth degrees of the major scale. If you say that's the notes of E and G, the third instance of this happening are from the notes A to C. Which are the sixth to the eighth degree or the sixth to the octave? And finally if you go from B to D which is the seventh to the second or the nineth degree, that's also minor third Ans its a fourth instance of it occurring in the major scale. Minor thirds can go up, or they can go down, if minor thirds go up they are described as ascending minor thirds. Conversely if they go down that describe descending minor thirds. Now starting from the C at the third fret of the A string, is what an ascending minor third sounds like because from C to E flat.

If we start from C the third fret of the A string, is what a descending minor third sounds like. And from C we go down to the note A. For ear training purposes a melotic motif that uses ascending minor thirds is the first two notes of the base line to BAD by Michael Jackson it sounds like this.

And for ear training purposes a melotic motif that uses descending minor thirds is "Hey Jude" and that sounds like this. If you head over to my website at www.how-to-play-bass.Com don't forget to put all the hyphens as its shown in the screen you'll find more video articles on intervals on another topics as well. Simply head over to the website find the glossary page and click on that and you'll find them only yield at there. That's it for this video article I will see you in the next one.


Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services