musical interval
- noun
- /ˈmjuːzɪkəl ˈɪntərvəl/
- Specialized
:
intervalo musical
- Understanding musical intervals helps musicians recognize the relationships between different notes.
Examples
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A major third is an example of a common musical interval that creates a happy sound.
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First, some key signatures are perceived as being "easy keys" (like C) and "difficult keys" (like C-sharp) when, in actuality, the musical intervals could be exactly the same.
Academic text (1997) -
For instance, listening to pieces that include solo instruments at an early age can contribute to neural changes that prime the brain for encoding pitch relationships (musical intervals) and isolating auditory events (19).
Academic text (2015) -
In music theory, a perfect fifth is a type of musical interval that consists of seven half steps.
Synonyms
2
5.7
The difference in pitch between two notes
How Large
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'interval' (a distance or gap) qualified by 'musical' clearly signals a distance in the domain of music, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the distance between pitches. This construction is regular and cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'intervalo musical', French 'intervalle musical'), making it immediately comprehensible at B1.
Etymology
Musical interval comes from the simple idea of an interval as a space or gap between two things, and in music it became the 'distance' between two notes. So, thinking of an interval as the space between notes helps you remember it means the difference in pitch between those notes.