What is interval ear training?
An interval is the distance between two notes. Interval ear training means learning to name that distance by sound alone: hearing two notes and knowing it was a major third or a perfect fifth. It is relative pitch, the skill most musicians build, and different from perfect pitch, which names a single note with nothing to compare it to.
Here, 20 intervals play one at a time. Start with the five common ones (major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, octave) or take on all twelve. The notes can go up, down, or sound together. The lower note changes every time, so you have to listen to the distance, not remember one note. Each answer is shown straight away.
How is your Interval Ear Training Test result calculated?
Your score is how many of the 20 you named right. The result also shows your median answer time: the time from the moment the second note started (when the notes play together, the moment they start) to your press, taken from the input event and the audio clock. Replays add to that time. Guessing would get about 4 right with five choices and about 2 with twelve, so a score well above that is real hearing, not luck.
Speakers and headphones add a short delay before a sound is heard, usually a small fraction of a second, which makes answer times look a little longer than they are. It doesn't change which answers are right.
Which songs help you learn intervals?
A common way to learn intervals is to link each one to the start of a tune you know. These open with the interval going up:
| Interval | Semitones | A tune that starts with it |
|---|---|---|
| Minor 2nd | 1 | The Jaws theme (the two alternating notes) |
| Major 2nd | 2 | Happy Birthday (“-py” to “birth-”) |
| Minor 3rd | 3 | Greensleeves (“A-las”) |
| Major 3rd | 4 | When the Saints Go Marching In (“Oh when”) |
| Perfect 4th | 5 | Here Comes the Bride; Amazing Grace (“A-ma-”) |
| Tritone | 6 | Maria, from West Side Story (“Ma-ri-”) |
| Perfect 5th | 7 | Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (“Twinkle, twin-”) |
| Minor 6th | 8 | The Entertainer (the leap after the opening notes) |
| Major 6th | 9 | My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (“My Bon-”) |
| Minor 7th | 10 | Somewhere, from West Side Story (“There's a”) |
| Octave | 12 | Somewhere Over the Rainbow (“Some-where”) |
No well-known tune opens with a major seventh. It is one semitone short of an octave, so many people hear the octave first and then step down.
Why do some intervals sound smoother than others?
The smooth ones are close to simple frequency ratios: an octave doubles the frequency, and a perfect fifth multiplies it by about 3 ÷ 2. The notes here use equal temperament, the tuning of a piano, where every semitone is the same step. That puts some intervals slightly off their simple ratios, as the code works out:
| Interval | Simple ratio | Piano tuning vs ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Minor 2nd | 16:15 | −11.7 cents |
| Major 2nd | 9:8 | −3.9 cents |
| Minor 3rd | 6:5 | −15.6 cents |
| Major 3rd | 5:4 | +13.7 cents |
| Perfect 4th | 4:3 | +2.0 cents |
| Tritone | 45:32 | +9.8 cents |
| Perfect 5th | 3:2 | −2.0 cents |
| Minor 6th | 8:5 | −13.7 cents |
| Major 6th | 5:3 | +15.6 cents |
| Minor 7th | 16:9 | +3.9 cents |
| Major 7th | 15:8 | +11.7 cents |
| Octave | 2:1 | exact |
A cent is a hundredth of a semitone; most people can't hear a difference of a few cents.
Is this a hearing test?
No. Naming intervals depends on musical training and practice, not on how well your ears work, and the test plays through whatever speakers you have. It can't tell you anything about your hearing health; if you're worried about your hearing, see a hearing professional.
To name chords instead of single intervals, try the Chord Recognition Test; to name single notes with no reference, the Perfect Pitch Test.