Ear Trainer

Hear the distance.
Find it on the fretboard.

Learn all twelve intervals by listening, recognising and playing.

All guitar tools

A little listening, every day

What is the distance you hear?

Listen, then click an interval to answer.

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A practical interval vocabulary

Twelve distances. A whole musical language.

Use familiar melodies to learn each interval, then recognise it from different starting notes.

Ascending interval reference · frets are distances on the same string
Interval	Frets	In real music	Use it on guitar
Minor 2ndm2 · ♭2 · half step · semitone	1	Jaws: the rising step in the two-note shark motif.	A chromatic approach can lead into a chord tone from one fret below.
Major 2ndM2 · 2 · whole step · tone	2	Happy Birthday: the rise from ‘-py’ to ‘birth-’, after the repeated opening note.	A common melodic step; the second becomes a ninth when placed an octave higher.
Minor 3rdm3 · ♭3	3	Greensleeves: the opening upward leap in the familiar melody.	Root to ♭3 supplies the defining third of a minor chord and a central minor-pentatonic sound.
Major 3rdM3 · 3	4	When the Saints Go Marching In: the opening rise from ‘Oh’ to ‘when’.	Root to 3 defines a major triad. Lower its third by one fret to make the triad minor.
Perfect 4thP4 · 4 · perfect fourth	5	Here Comes the Bride: the opening rise from ‘here’ to ‘comes’.	Most neighbouring open strings are a perfect fourth apart. A sus4 chord replaces its third with this tone.
TritoneTT · ♯4 · ♭5 · A4 · d5 · augmented 4th · diminished 5th	6	Maria, from West Side Story: the rise from ‘Ma-’ to ‘-ri-’.	The 3rd and ♭7 of a dominant seventh chord form a tritone; the ♭5 also colours the minor blues scale.
Perfect 5thP5 · 5 · perfect fifth	7	Star Wars main title: the leap from the repeated pickup notes to the long high note.	Root and fifth make a movable two-note power chord, without choosing a major or minor third.
Minor 6thm6 · ♭6	8	The Entertainer: the upward leap after the short opening pickup figure.	The ♭6 belongs to natural minor. Inverting a major third produces a minor sixth.
Major 6thM6 · 6	9	My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean: the opening rise from ‘My’ to ‘Bon-’.	Add the sixth to a major triad for a major-sixth chord; paired sixths are useful melodic double-stops.
Minor 7thm7 · ♭7 · flat seventh	10	Somewhere, from West Side Story: the opening rise on ‘There’s a’.	The ♭7 turns a major triad into a dominant seventh chord and is central to blues harmony.
Major 7thM7 · 7 · major seventh	11	Take on Me: the wide rising leap at the start of the chorus vocal phrase, not the synth riff.	The 7 gives major-seventh chords their characteristic colour and often moves up to the tonic.
OctaveP8 · 8 · perfect octave	12	Over the Rainbow: the opening leap from ‘Some-’ to ‘-where’.	Octave shapes connect repeated notes across the neck and support melodic octave playing.

Turn a distance into a movable shape

Choose C at fret 3 on the A string. A major third is four semitones: move to fret 7 on that same string. To reach the same E on the D string, subtract its five-semitone tuning gap: 3 + 4 − 5 = fret 2.

Now begin at C, fret 5 on the G string. The B string is only four semitones higher, so the E is at 5 + 4 − 4 = fret 5 on B. The sound is the same relationship; the tuning changes its shape.

Move both notes by the same number of frets to transpose without changing the interval. Across several strings, subtract the sum of the tuning gaps. If the calculated fret is negative, choose another starting position or string.

Learn the neck through octaves and inversions

From A-string C at fret 3, C one octave higher sits at G-string fret 5: two strings thinner, two frets towards the bridge. From D-string C at fret 10, the higher C is at B-string fret 13: crossing G–B adds one fret.

Move the lower note of an interval up one octave and the two distances add to twelve semitones: a minor second pairs with a major seventh; a major second with a minor seventh; a minor third with a major sixth; a major third with a minor sixth; a fourth with a fifth. A tritone inverts to another tritone.

For example, C3–E3 is a major third. Put C above E to make E3–C4, a minor sixth. This is an inversion, not simply playing the original two pitches in reverse order.

Make five minutes transfer into music

Spend one minute comparing two intervals from the same reference pitch in Learn intervals.
Listen to ten varied questions. Sing the second note before choosing its name.
Review a missed distance: play the correct interval, then your mistaken one from the same reference.
Find the higher note on the diagram and on your guitar. Move both notes to a new key.
Finish with a short phrase or chord using the interval. Return tomorrow, mixing familiar sounds with one new distance.

Hear intervals inside harmony

Play C–E–G, then lower E to E♭. The third changes the chord quality while the fifth stays put. Next add B♭ to C–E–G: E–B♭ is the tritone inside C7. Move E up to F and B♭ down to A to hear two notes resolving into F major.

For blues, play C–E♭–F–G♭–G. G♭ is the ♭5 passing between fourth and fifth. A bent blue note may sit between equal-tempered pitches; the trainer teaches the fixed six-semitone reference, not every expressive inflection.

For melodic practice, choose one interval and write a two-bar phrase that uses it. Learn to hear its role against the chord as well as its isolated size.

Free guitar lesson and practice tool

Build an ear that guides your hands

Relative pitch grows when listening, singing, naming and playing describe the same relationship. Use short, thoughtful practice and check both the sound and the physical movement.

What you can learn

Recognise twelve interval distances in ascending, descending and harmonic form.
Distinguish close neighbours and review your first-answer listening results.
Locate the exact higher pitch on any available string, then play it on your guitar.
Understand interval names, tuning offsets, octave shapes and musical uses.

How to use this tool

Select at least two intervals or begin with the starter set.
Press Play interval, then click your answer.
Read the feedback and replay while following the revealed fretboard.
Use Learn intervals and Find on fretboard to connect the sound with physical playing.

Frequently asked questions

What is an interval in music?

An interval is the distance between two pitches. A semitone is one fret on the same guitar string; a whole tone is two. The number describes the letter-name distance and the quality describes its size: C to E is a major third, while C to E-flat is a minor third. Melodic intervals sound one note after another; harmonic intervals sound together.

Why twelve intervals, and where is unison?

This trainer covers the twelve distances from one to twelve semitones: minor second through octave. Unison is zero semitones, the same pitch. An octave repeats the note name at twice the frequency; it is not the same pitch. There are thirteen distances if you count both unison and octave.

Are augmented fourth, tritone and diminished fifth the same?

On an equal-tempered guitar, an augmented fourth (A4 or ♯4) and a diminished fifth (d5 or ♭5) both span six semitones, a tritone. Their spelling explains their role: C–F♯ uses four letter names, while C–G♭ uses five. The ♭5 is one blue note in the minor blues scale, but blue notes also include inflections of thirds and sevenths. ‘Devil’s interval’ or ‘devil’s note’ is a nickname, not a separate interval.

Why does a shape change at the B string?

Standard tuning rises by five semitones between neighbouring strings, except G to B, which rises by four. For a higher target on the next thinner string, target fret equals reference fret plus the interval in semitones minus the tuning gap. Crossing G to B therefore puts the target one fret nearer the bridge than the equivalent shape on a pair tuned in fourths.

Do familiar songs teach reliable interval recognition?

A familiar song can help you recall a distance, but it also supplies rhythm and harmonic context. Use the exact pair of notes identified in the reference, then remove the tune: sing the interval from several starting pitches and recognise it descending and together. A song mnemonic is a starting aid, not the whole skill.

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guide what you play.

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