All bass lines are made up from intervals.
If you know intervals you can:
- Create your own bass lines
- Learn scales very easily
- Hear music effortlessly
In short, your musical life will be made much easier with a strong grasp of intervals.
This lesson will show you everything you need to know (scroll down for the PDF cheat sheet).
Major Scale Intervals
The root note is the lowest note in the scale (think roots of a tree).
An interval is the distance between two musical pitches, measured from the root to another note in the scale. Once you have an interval, it can be used from any note.
Here's a C Major scale:
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C 1 Root
D 2 Major 2nd
E 3 Major 3rd
F 4 Perfect 4th
G 5 Perfect 5th
A 6 Major 6th
B 7 Major 7th
C 8 Octave
Compare these intervals to the natural minor intervals...
Minor Scale Intervals
Here is A Natural Minor:
A B C D E F G A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
A 1 Root
B 2 Major 2nd
C 3 Minor 3rd
D 4 Perfect 4th
E 5 Perfect 5th
F 6 Minor 6th
G 7 Minor 7th
A 8 Octave
