What's the difference between a minor interval and a diminished interval (music theor

[Angelica]

Hi,

I'm trying to get through my music theory homework and I'm having some difficulty distinguishing between a minor interval and a diminished interval...

We only have two notes per chord (someone suggested looking at the third note... of which there are NONE) and they DO use flats and sharps.

So, 10 points to whomever can explain how to find a minor interval, a diminished interval, and how to tell the difference between the two in the simplest way.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kthleen]

Re: What's the difference between a minor interval and a diminished interval (music t

Ok, here's what my notes say:

They're pretty much the same thing: one half-step (semitone) down from a particular note. The difference is that diminished is one step down from perfect or minor, but minor can only one step down from major.

Only 4^ths, 5^ths, octaves, and unisons can be "perfect" if they're in the major key signature of the bottom note. Everything else (2, 3, 6, and 7), again if it's in the major key signature of the bottom note, is "major."

For example, if C is the bottom note, G is a perfect 5^th and A is a major 6^th. On that note, G♭ is a diminished 5^th, A♭ is a minor 6^th, and A♭♭ is a diminished 6^th. There is no minor 1/4/5/8.

And, yes, some diminished/minor notes share the same tone as another note, but as long as it doesn't have the other name, it's a different interval. For example, as mentioned above, G in comparison to C is a perfect 5^th; call it A♭♭, however, and it turns into a diminished 6^th (as long as its name is some sort of A, it'll be some sort of 6^th). I don't know if Wiki will help, but here you go.

Aug       Aug
 ↑         ↑
Perf      Maj
 ↓         ↓
Dim       Min
           ↓
          Dim


Examples:


Bottom note C:

4[sup]th[/sup]:       3[sup]rd[/sup]:
F♯         E♯
↑          ↑
F          E
↓          ↓
F♭        E♭
           ↓
          E♭♭


Bottom note A:

8[sup]ve[/sup]:       6[sup]th[/sup]:
A♯         F[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/DoubleSharp.svg/6px-DoubleSharp.svg.png[/img] (double sharp)
↑          ↑
A          F♯
↓          ↓
A♭        F♮
           ↓
           F♭