Songs for Interval Recognition
I mentioned last week that I'm spending a month in Italy without a guitar. My substitute obsession has been learning the Italian language, but I've made time for some spreadsheeting wildness as well. (See Counting Tunes at Jam Sessions for a taste of my ridiculous fascination.)
Songs for Intervals
The spreadsheet I have for you today is a chart of songs for interval recognition. The seed for this project came from the sirens running around the streets of Florence. Ambulances use a major 6th melodic interval, and the Carabinieri use a perfect 4th melodic interval. (And the echoing Doppler effect as they pass my apartment window is totally wicked!) I still remember my first guitar teacher showing me how to memorize the sound of an interval by superimposing the first two notes of "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" over a major 6th. That's what I heard in my head during my first Florentine ambulance siren experience, but another one popped in there at the same time: "Take the 'A' Train". As I mulled over this new connection, I also heard the NBC theme and "All Blues", and I realized they all use the same scale degrees to form that interval: 5 up to 3. And I thought, wouldn't it be nice to distinguish between the different pairs of scale degrees that can create an interval? Yes. More on that below.
Chart Weaknesses
Search for interval recognition songs, and you'll find a parade of charts that offer a handful of well-known songs for each kind of interval, ascending and descending. The obvious drawback is that you're not familiar with all the named songs. Large intervals starting a melody are particularly hard to find, and I invariably see a lot of unfamiliar titles for anything larger than a perfect 5th. This chart by EarMaster helps out by allowing you to select a single song of your preference for each interval and create a custom chart for your own ears. They even link to YouTube clips of every song.
But even when I make my own chart, there's still something missing. I never see any mention of the scale degrees outlining the interval. For any given interval, I hear it differently depending on the context. For example, a descending minor 3rd occurs between the first two notes of "Oleo" on scale degrees 1 and 6, "Girl from Ipanema" on 2 and 7, "Frosty the Snowman" on 5 and 3, "Peter Gunn Theme" on b3 and 1, and "What Is This Thing Called Love?" on b7 and 5. They're all minor 3rds, but they come from different directions. A new one might trip you up if you're unfamiliar with its place in the key.
The Spreadsheet
So I started my own spreadsheet to keep track of only melodies I know and all the scale degrees they use. With no instruments at my disposal, I've identified intervals to 135 tunes so far. A few of the scale degrees are missing either for lack of a tonal center or because I couldn't figure it out by humming. And a few intervals don't have example tunes yet, as I haven't discovered any without an instrument. Like all my crazy spreadsheets, it's a work in progress.
View the complete live spreadsheet on Google Docs. The columns, in order, are the first scale degree of the interval, the second scale degree, direction, number of semitones, interval name, and song title. (The number of semitones is necessary for sorting everything, thereby grouping identical intervals together.) Along the bottom, you'll see three tabs: Master, Sorted, and Encode. Master is where I input all the data. Sorted is a copy of Master, sorted by interval size. Encode converts semitones to interval name.
My collection of songs will do you no good. Make your own copy of that spreadsheet. You can download it or copy to your own Google Docs account. Delete every song you don't recognize and add more that you do.
Below is a sample of the spreadsheet in its current state. Songs are grouped by interval size and direction, displaying starting scale degree, ending scale degree, and song title. Any suggestions? Hit the comments!
Ascending Minor 2nd |
||
| 3 | 4 | Blue Monk |
| 3 | 4 | I'll Remember April |
| 3 | 4 | Till There Was You |
| 5 | b6 | Caravan |
| 5 | b6 | How Insensitive (Insensatez) |
| 7 | 1 | There Is No Greater Love |
| Bye Bye Blackbird | ||
| Jaws Theme | ||
| Pink Panther Theme | ||
| What's New? | ||
Descending Minor 2nd |
||
| 1 | 7 | Fly Me to the Moon |
| 1 | 7 | Joy to the World |
| 1 | 7 | On Green Dolphin Street |
| 1 | 7 | Solar |
| 1 | 7 | Stella by Starlight |
| 3 | b3 | O Little Town of Bethlehem |
| 4 | 3 | Killer Joe |
| 5 | b5 | Billie's Bounce |
| 5 | b5 | Fur Elise |
Ascending Major 2nd |
||
| 1 | 2 | Autumn Leaves |
| 1 | 2 | Doe, a Deer |
| 1 | 2 | Milestones |
| 1 | 2 | Mr. PC |
| 1 | 2 | My Funny Valentine |
| 2 | 3 | Body and Soul |
| 5 | 6 | Happy Birthday |
| 5 | 6 | I Got Rhythm |
| 5 | 6 | Just You, Just Me |
| 5 | 6 | Out of Nowhere |
| 5 | 6 | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer |
| 5 | 6 | Silent Night |
| 6 | 7 | Woody 'n' You |
| There Will Never Be Another You | ||
Descending Major 2nd |
||
| 2 | 1 | Yesterday (Beatles) |
| 3 | 2 | Autumn in New York |
| 3 | 2 | Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me |
| 3 | 2 | Figaro |
| 3 | 2 | Hot Crossed Buns |
| 3 | 2 | Just Friends |
| 3 | 2 | Mary Had a Little Lamb |
| 3 | 2 | On the Sunny Side of the Street |
| 3 | 2 | Three Blind Mice |
| 5 | 4 | Away in a Manger |
| 5 | 4 | Deck the Halls |
| 5 | 4 | Don't Get Around Much Anymore |
| 5 | 4 | Lullaby of Birdland |
| 5 | 4 | Tune Up |
| 5 | 4 | Whistle While You Work |
| 6 | 5 | Freddie Freeloader |
| 6 | 5 | Satin Doll |
Ascending Minor 3rd |
||
| 1 | b3 | Comin' Home Baby |
| 1 | b3 | Greensleeves |
| 1 | b3 | It Don't Mean a Thing |
| 1 | b3 | Moanin' |
| 1 | b3 | Stolen Moments |
| 1 | b3 | Take Five |
| 3 | 5 | Cherokee |
| 3 | 5 | O Canada |
| 5 | b7 | Blue Train |
| 6 | 1 | Wave |
Descending Minor 3rd |
||
| 1 | 6 | I Mean You |
| 1 | 6 | Love for Sale |
| 1 | 6 | Oleo |
| 2 | 7 | Garota de Ipanema |
| 5 | 3 | Blue Rondo Ala Turk |
| 5 | 3 | Frosty the Snowman |
| 5 | 3 | Hey Jude |
| 5 | 3 | Misty |
| 5 | 3 | S Wonderful! |
| 5 | 3 | Star-Spangled Banner |
| b3 | 1 | Peter Gunn Theme |
| b7 | 5 | What is this Thing Called Love? |
| Five Hundred Miles High | ||
Ascending Major 3rd |
||
| 1 | 3 | I Can't Get Started |
| 1 | 3 | Kum Ba Yah |
| 1 | 3 | Marines' Hymn |
| 1 | 3 | They Can't Take That Away from Me |
| 1 | 3 | When the Saints Go Marching In |
Descending Major 3rd |
||
| 3 | 1 | Aguas de Marco |
| 3 | 1 | Swing Low Sweet Chariot |
| 3 | 1 | Tenor Madness |
| 5 | b3 | Beethoven's Fifth |
| 5 | b3 | Nature Boy |
| 5 | b3 | Summertime |
| 5 | b3 | Yesterdays |
| 7 | 5 | In a Mellow Tone |
| Giant Steps | ||
Ascending Perfect 4th |
||
| 1 | 4 | All the Things You Are |
| 5 | 1 | Amazing Grace |
| 5 | 1 | Auld Lang Syne |
| 5 | 1 | Bemsha Swing |
| 5 | 1 | C Jam Blues |
| 5 | 1 | Hark the Herald |
| 5 | 1 | Here Comes the Bride |
| 5 | 1 | How High the Moon |
| 5 | 1 | Maiden Voyage |
| 5 | 1 | Nearness of You, The |
| 5 | 1 | Nostalgia in Times Square |
| 5 | 1 | Now's the Time |
| 5 | 1 | O Christmas Tree |
| 5 | 1 | Round Midnight |
| 5 | 1 | Some Day My Prince Will Come |
| 5 | 1 | Song for My Father |
| 5 | 1 | St. Thomas |
| 5 | 1 | Straight No Chaser |
| 5 | 1 | We Wish You a Merry Christmas |
Descending Perfect 4th |
||
| 1 | 5 | All of Me |
| 1 | 5 | I've Been Working on the Railroad |
| 1 | 5 | O Come All Ye Faithful |
| 1 | 5 | Shave and a Haircut |
| 1 | 5 | Softly as in a Morning Sunrise |
| E.S.P. | ||
Ascending Tritone |
||
| 1 | b5 | Maria (West Side Story) |
| 1 | b5 | The Simpsons Theme |
Ascending Perfect 5th |
||
| 1 | 5 | 2001 Space Odyssey Theme |
| 1 | 5 | Angel Eyes |
| 1 | 5 | Blackbird (Beatles) |
| 1 | 5 | My Favorite Things |
| 1 | 5 | Top Gun Theme |
| 1 | 5 | Twinkle Twinkle |
Descending Perfect 5th |
||
| 5 | 1 | Flintstones Theme |
| 5 | 1 | Seven Steps to Heaven |
| 5 | 1 | Way You Look Tonight, The |
Ascending Minor 6th |
||
| 3 | 1 | In My Life (Beatles) |
| 3 | 1 | Soul Man |
Ascending Major 6th |
||
| 5 | 3 | All Blues |
| 5 | 3 | Days of Wine and Roses |
| 5 | 3 | My Bonnie |
| 5 | 3 | NBC Theme |
| 5 | 3 | Speak Low |
| 5 | 3 | Take the "A" Train |
Descending Major 6th |
||
| 3 | 5 | Music of the Night, The |
Ascending Minor 7th |
||
| 1 | b7 | I Feel Free |
Ascending Major 7th |
||
| 1 | 7 | Ceora |
Ascending Octave |
||
| 1 | 1 | Alice in Wonderland |
| 1 | 1 | Over the Rainbow |
Descending Octave |
||
| 1 | 1 | Willow Weep for Me |
Jenny (1 Jun 2011 at 7:03am)
This is great. Thanks!
Lukas (15 Jun 2011 at 12:29am)
Great chart! I have a question: How do you recognize the scale degree? I can recognize intervals but have no idea how to recognize what scale degree it is? Any advice?
Joe (16 Jun 2011 at 8:08pm)
It's all a matter of where the tonic is. I label the scale degrees relative to the key the song's in. So when the first two notes of "Summertime" in D minor are A and F, those are scale degrees 5 and b3 relative to the tonic D. Thanks for reading!
Ken E (1 Feb 2012 at 5:08pm)
Hey Joe -
Came across your site via StumbleUpon. I appreciate the musicianship that comes across in your posts. I am a guitar player for over 30 years and this post reminded me of my college days when I first learned what an interval was! It really opened up my ears trying to recognize ascending and descending intervals in familiar songs. Great training. Keep up the good work!
Joe (3 Feb 2012 at 12:59pm)
Thanks Ken, glad you dig it!
Paul (5 Mar 2012 at 8:14am)
Hi, I play tenor sax. Does your site apply to my instrument? I just started and have a lot to learn. ThanksPaul
Joe (5 Mar 2012 at 2:11pm)
Hi Paul,
Sure. I play guitar, and I estimate half of this site applies directly to my instrument. The other half applies to music in general, most often jazz, so feel free to poke around.
Joe
ruth (9 May 2013 at 9:22am)
what place can I see songs with intervals already placed on the notes. like the M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7, P8. can u help.
I need to see written out songs. thank u.
ruth (9 May 2013 at 9:24am)
Oh, thank for the list of songs, also, posted.
Joe (11 May 2013 at 5:48pm)
Hi Ruth. If I understand what you're looking for, I don't think I've ever seen it. You might have to make some yourself; that's the best way I learn.
El (11 Oct 2013 at 11:27am)
Any examples for Minor 6th? Mine is In My Life by The Beatles.
Joe (11 Oct 2013 at 12:26pm)
Nice one, thanks El. That would be a 3 to 1 ascending minor 6th. Now that you bring it up, I believe the same interval in the same key starts off "Soul Man."
jessica (11 Nov 2013 at 3:33pm)
This website is amazing. Thank you. So helpful and I love jazz :)
Joe (11 Nov 2013 at 3:55pm)
Thanks!
Richard Leppig (2 May 2014 at 12:03am)
So I have this harmony line in a song where I drop off the melody with a descending tritone and I can never find it. So I think, hey, some website will give me some songs to use but apparently you're telling me there aren't any? I guess there's a lot more violence in music than I originally thought.
Ari (29 Apr 2016 at 11:56am)
This is incredibly helpful! Thanks for posting!
James Wood (9 Jan 2018 at 12:52am)
I like this list of reference songs
Better suited to my age group = I know most of them
Teah
Tim West (21 Jun 2018 at 4:50am)
Really to understand and be able to replicate and hear a descending major 2nd (for example), we need to hear the movement from the tonic to the modal leading note below it. So starting on C for example WITH C AS THE TONIC moving to a Bb below it as a minor 7th. None of these tunes do this. Sunshine of my love is one example that does. Similarly for the other descending intervals. And for the ascending 4th. Usually only 5 up to 8(1) is offered for the 4th.
Tori (6 Sep 2018 at 4:41pm)
Thanks for this list! It was very helpful for an assignment for my aural skills class. Another great ascending M7 Is Take On Me, if you'd like to add that to your list. It's not exactly jazz, but it is pretty memorable and therefore useful. Again, thanks for publishing this list!
Jay (1 Aug 2021 at 5:54am)
OMG!!! That explains everything. I've been ear training for 3 years and improving intermittently. What you said about tonal centres and direction explains to me I'm not tone (or scale degree) deaf. Thank you soooo much. More please. Jay