Interval Piano Chart
Pick a starting note and an interval — see both keys and hear how far apart they sound
How to play
- An interval is the distance between two notes, measured in semitones (half steps) and named by quality + number (e.g. major 3rd = 4 semitones).
- Pick a starting note (the amber key) and an interval. The second note lights up in blue at the right distance above it.
- Harmonic plays both notes together; Melodic plays them one after the other. Tap any key to hear it alone.
- The top note is spelled correctly for the interval (e.g. C up a tritone = F♯ as an augmented 4th).
- Keyboard: Tab to any chip or control, Enter/Space to activate. Keys scroll sideways on small screens.
This is an Interval Piano Chart that allows you to discover the sound and distance of one note from another. It’s interactive too, so you can click on the onscreen controls, or use your computer keyboard to move around the interface. By doing this you will be able to see intervals as well as hear how they work in a melodic and harmonic context.
Select a starting note (from the row of buttons marked Starting note), then select the other note(s) from the buttons below the keyboard, which represent all the notes of the chromatic scale from C to B. When you click on one of these buttons, the key on the piano keyboard below turns amber. This is your bottom note for the interval. At any point you may change your root note and listen again to hear the interval played over a different background.
How to Use the Interval Piano Chart
From the row above called Interval, you can then choose the interval that you wish to play. They range from a minor second to a perfect octave. As you click each one, it will highlight the desired note on the keyboard in blue. Then, the window changes to reflect what the interval is and which notes form this interval. The spelling of the note is also displayed at the top but only if it is correct for the interval selected.
If you want to hear how the two notes sound together (a chord), then press the Harmonic button and listen out for whether they are consonant or dissonant. Alternatively, if you wish to hear the notes one at a time, like the way an interval is heard one after another, then use the Melodic button which will play the lower/root note first with the top note after. To simply hear each individual key in isolation just click on the piano keyboard wherever you like.
Next, there’s the option for Volume which sits alongside the interval control (Vol is at the far right end of the control row). Sliding this up or down changes the volume of everything played by the widget. This can be handy when working with intervals but wanting to avoid distracting background sound, especially in quiet surroundings. The volume level will persist regardless of changing intervals and notes.
Everything can be controlled from your computer keyboard. You can tab around the piano keys, the playback controls, the interval buttons and the root note buttons. When the focus is on one of these controls, just press the space bar or Enter to select it. That way you don’t need a mouse at all if you would rather input using a keyboard. It’s laid out following good web accessibility patterns, so it should be easy to use.
If you are viewing this on a mobile device, tablet, or small screen, click the Fullscreen button in the top-right corner to expand the interface. This will make it much more user-friendly and enlarge the size of the piano keyboard. The escape key and the button itself will return you to your original display mode.
It’s useful if you want to study the key relationships in detail. If you want a reminder there is a help panel. To open the help text, click on the How to play button. This gives you a short overview of the controls as well as an explanation about using the interval system. At any point, you can close the help panel and go back to the main interface. It explains the key concepts to get you going.
As you select your options, more data is presented on screen. You’ll see which note names and how many semitones there are in the selected interval. There’s a label for the type of interval (dissonant, perfect, etc.) plus the interval name that’s written out in large letters. You can also see the inversion of the chosen interval displayed, so you get a sense of the relationship between say minor sixths and major thirds.
Listen to each interval played from a variety of different root notes and notice that although the pitch has changed, the character of the interval is constant. In melodic mode play through the intervals to train your ear to identify them by sound shape. Change to harmonic mode and listen to how the intervals work within chords. Have some fun experimenting with the tritone. It’s distinctive because it’s such a tense-sounding interval.
Test your music theory knowledge. This is a fun way to check if you know what an interval is. It’s completely random so pick one then see if you can hear which interval it is before it plays. You can also visually check your answer from the keys that are lit up on the keyboard.
Moving up and down the keyboard is a good way to get used to intervals and learn them actively. It will help build the concept of how