Piano intervals for beginners: how to find a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th

After this lesson you can name and play a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th by counting letter names.

You already know two distances between notes: the step and the skip. Musicians have a more precise way of measuring distance that works for any gap, small or large. It is called an interval, and it is named with a simple number. Learning intervals makes reading faster, helps you hear how tunes are built, and is the foundation for the chords in the next lesson.

How to name an interval

To find the interval between two notes, count the letter names from the lower note to the higher note, including both of them.

C up to D: count C, D. That is 2 letters, so the interval is a 2nd.
C up to E: count C, D, E. That is 3 letters, a 3rd.
C up to F: count C, D, E, F. That is a 4th.
C up to G: count C, D, E, F, G. That is a 5th.

The one thing to remember is to count the starting note as 1. Beginners often count only the keys they move across and get an answer one too small.

Counting up from C: D is a 2nd above it, E a 3rd, F a 4th and G a 5th

This works from any starting note, not just C. D up to F is a 3rd (D, E, F). E up to A is a 4th (E, F, G, A). The method never changes.

How intervals relate to steps and skips

You already know two of these:

A 2nd is a step: the very next letter.
A 3rd is a skip: one letter missed out.

The 4th and 5th are bigger leaps. On the keyboard, a 4th jumps over two white keys, and a 5th over three.

Intervals on the staff

The staff makes intervals easy to see, once you know the pattern:

A 2nd goes from a line to the next space, or a space to the next line.
A 3rd goes from a line to the next line, or a space to the next space.
A 4th goes from a line to a space, or a space to a line, further apart.
A 5th goes from a line to a line, or a space to a space, with one line or space in between.

So odd-numbered intervals (3rd, 5th) always go line to line or space to space, while even-numbered intervals (2nd, 4th) go line to space or space to line. That one rule lets you check your answer at a glance.

Middle C followed by a 2nd, a 3rd, a 4th and a 5th above it

Intervals and your fingers

In C position, intervals match finger numbers in a handy way. From your thumb on C:

A 2nd above is under finger 2 (D).
A 3rd above is under finger 3 (E).
A 4th above is under finger 4 (F).
A 5th above is under finger 5 (G).

This only works neatly from the thumb, but it is a quick way to feel each interval's size in your hand. A 3rd always skips one finger; a 5th spans the whole hand.

Thirds on the move

Here is an exercise that walks up and down in 3rds. Each pair of notes is a 3rd apart, and each new pair starts a step higher than the last.

Thirds in C position: C–E, D–F, E–G going up, then the same pairs coming back down

Fingers: 1-3, 2-4, 3-5, then 5-3, 4-2, 3-1. Every pair skips one finger, just as every 3rd skips one key.

For 4ths and 5ths, try C–F and D–G (both 4ths), then C–G twice (a 5th each time).

Intervals in tunes you know

Most simple tunes are built mainly from 2nds. Ode to Joy is almost entirely 2nds and repeated notes. Au clair de la lune mixes 2nds with 3rds: in its third bar, C up to E is a 3rd, and E down to D is a 2nd. You can listen to it on the Au clair de la lune song page and try to pick out the jumps.

Intervals have a sound as well as a size. A 2nd sounds close and smooth. A 3rd sounds sweet and pleasant. A 4th and a 5th sound more open and hollow. With practice you will start to recognise them by ear.

How to practise

Count out loud: "C, D, E: a 3rd". Do this for every interval from C, then from D and from E.
Play each interval above C, one note after the other: C–D, C–E, C–F, C–G. Name each one.
Play the thirds exercise slowly, saying "3rd" for each pair.
Play C–F, D–G, C–G, C–G and say "4th, 4th, 5th, 5th".
Ask someone to play two notes for you while you look away, and guess whether it is a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th.
Pick a piece you know and find one example of each interval in it.

Common mistakes

Counting keys instead of letters. Count letter names, not the gaps between them.
Counting downwards wrongly. For a falling interval, count from the lower note up to the higher one, or count down including both ends. E down to C is still a 3rd.
Mixing up 4ths and 5ths. Use your hand: a 5th stretches from thumb to little finger in C position.

Try it in Pianuvo

This is the first lesson of Unit 4: Intervals, first chords, legato and staccato. You hear and play each interval above C, find intervals around the keyboard, play 3rds, 4ths and 5ths on the move and then spot the intervals in Au clair de la lune. The quiz asks you to name intervals by eye and by ear. It all works with on-screen keys, a MIDI keyboard or a real piano through your microphone.