Major & Minor Intervals
Seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths each come in two sizes: major, and minor one fret below it. A major 3rd is four frets above the root; a minor 3rd is three.
Why it matters
The 3rd is the one that decides the mood — major sounds bright, minor sounds serious, and that single fret is the whole difference between a happy and a sad chord. The others colour the sound without changing its basic character.
Used in a sentence
Digging deeper
Seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths each come in two sizes: major, and minor one fret below it. A major 3rd sits four frets above the root; a minor 3rd sits three. Same number, one fret apart — and that one fret changes the mood of everything built on top of it.
Common questions
Which one changes the sound the most?
The 3rd, by a distance. A major 3rd is bright and resolved, a minor 3rd is dark and serious — move that single note and a happy chord turns sad. Sixths and sevenths colour the sound without changing its basic character that way.
Is “minor third” the same thing as “b3”?
Yes. “Minor 3rd” is the formal name and “b3” is the shorthand used in scale formulas — both mean the note one fret below the major 3rd.
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