Thursday Theory: Learning intervals

Often people struggle to recognise intervals between notes.

Everyone knows that ‘Twinkle, twinkle, light star’ opens with a pair of unisons followed by a leap of a perfect 5th, but what about other intervals?

Here are the songs I have used to help me recognise intervals over the years.

• Unison – the first two notes of ‘Twinkle, twinkle‘ or the first two notes of ‘God Save the Queen‘
• Minor 2nd – the repeated two pitches at the opening of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise‘ or the first change of pitch in his ‘Ode to Joy‘. Also, the repeated pair of notes that are the theme from ‘Jaws‘
• Major 2nd – the first two notes of a major or minor scale or the first two notes of the chorus of ‘Strangers in the Night‘ or ‘Happy Birthday‘
• Minor 3rd – the first two pitches of ‘Greensleeves‘
• Major 3rd – the first two pitches of ‘Once in Royal‘ or ‘When the Saints Go Marching In‘
• Perfect 4th – the first two pitches of ‘Away in a Manger‘ or ‘Here Comes the Bride‘
• Augmented 4th/Diminished 5th (also called a tritone – the first two pitches of the chorus of ‘Maria‘ from ‘West Side Story’
• Perfect 5th – as well as the first change of pitch in ‘Twinkle, twinkle’ it’s also the first two pitches of the main theme from both ‘Star Wars‘ and ‘Superman‘
• Minor 6th – the two falling pitches at the beginning of the theme from ‘Love Story‘
• Major 6th – the opening two pitches of ‘My Bonnie lies over the ocean‘
• Minor 7th – the first two pitches of ‘Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us‘ from ‘West Side Story’
• Major 7th – the start of the chorus of A-ha’s ‘Take on Me‘
• Perfect Octave – the opening two notes of the chorus of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow‘

This version of Nat King Cole‘s The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) is very clever and helpful to learn intervals (it also shows what an amazing piece of songwriting it is):

And here’s the song being sung:

Thursday Theory: Italian Tempo Markings

Here is a list of the most common (and some rather less common) Italian terms used as a marker for tempo that you might see at the top of a piece of music, at a new section or at the beginning of a new movement.

The bpm (number of beats per minute) beside many of the terms is nothing more than approximation to give a sense of how fast or slow.

All the terms have had some flexibility over the centuries.

• Larghissimo – extremely slow (c. 24 bpm or slower). e.g. Bernstein: Symphony No. 5 (‘Symphony for Strings’) mvt. 2 Larghissimo
• Adagissimo – very slowly. e.g.Bach: Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo BWV 992, mvt. 3 Adagissimo
• Grave – very slow (c. 25–45 bpm). e.g.: Handel: Suite No. 4 in D minor, HWV 437, Sarabande
• Largo – slowly and broadly (c. 40–60 bpm). e.g. Vivaldi: Lute Concerto, Largo
• Lento – slowly (c. 45–60 bpm). e.g. Bartok: String Quartet No. 1, Lento
• Larghetto – slowly and rather broadly (c. 60–66 bpm). e.g. Chopin: Piano Concerto, mvt. 2 Larghetto
• Adagio – slowly and with expression (c. 66–76 bpm). e.g. Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1, mvt. 2 Adagio
• Adagietto – slightly faster than adagio (c.70–80 bpm) and/or slightly slower than andante (c. 72–76 bpm). e.g. Bizet: L’Arlesienne Suite No. 1, mvt. 3 Adagietto
• Andante – at a walking pace (c. 76–108 bpm). e.g. Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1, mvt. 2 Andante
• Andantino – normally slightly faster than andante (but, in some cases, slightly slower than andante) (c. 80–108 bpm). e.g. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, mvt. 2 Andantino in modo Di canzone
• Andante moderato – a tempo somewhere between andante and moderato (c. 92–112 bpm). e.g. Brahms: Symphony No. 4, mvt. 2 Andante moderato
• Moderato – at a moderate tempo (c. 108 – 120 bpm). e.g. Sor: Number 17, Op. 35 – Moderato
• Allegretto – moderately fast (c. 112–120 bpm). e.g. Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, mvt. 2 Allegretto
• Allegro moderato – between moderato and allegro (c. 116–120 bpm). e.g. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, mvt. 1 Allegro moderato
• Allegro – fast and lively (c. 120–156 bpm). e.g. Hummel: Trumpet Concerto, mvt. 1 Allegro con spirits
• Vivace – fast and lively (faster and livelier than allegro) (c. 156–176 bpm). e.g. Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (‘Scottish’), mvt. 2, Vivace non troppo
• Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (c. 172–176 bpm). e.g. Sibelius: Symphony No. 2, mvt. 3 Vivacissimo
• Allegrissimo or Allegro vivace – very fast (c. 172–176 bpm). e.g. Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2, mvt. 4 Allegro vivace
• Presto – very, very fast (c. 168–200 bpm). e.g. Respighi: Piano Concerto, mvt. 3 Presto – Andante – Tempo I
• Prestissimo – even faster than presto (c. 200 bpm and faster). e.g. Verdi: Don Carlo (Ballet music from Act III)

Added to those there is rallentando and ritenuto, etc. meaning to gradually get slower and accelerando meaning to gradually get faster.