🎵 Interval Calculator
Select two notes to calculate the interval between them in semitones and its common interval name.
Counting up from the first note
Both notes are positions in the twelve-note chromatic scale, and the interval is the distance from the first up to the second, wrapped into a single octave:
semitones = (index of note 2 - index of note 1 + 12) mod 12C to G is 7 semitones, a perfect fifth. Order matters: G to C comes back as 5, a perfect fourth, because the count always runs upward. Those two are inversions of each other, and any interval and its inversion add to 12.
All twelve, measured from C
| Semitones | Name | From C |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unison | C |
| 1 | Minor 2nd | C# |
| 2 | Major 2nd | D |
| 3 | Minor 3rd | D# |
| 4 | Major 3rd | E |
| 5 | Perfect 4th | F |
| 6 | Tritone | F# |
| 7 | Perfect 5th | G |
| 8 | Minor 6th | G# |
| 9 | Major 6th | A |
| 10 | Minor 7th | A# |
| 11 | Major 7th | B |
Frequently asked questions
How many semitones are in a perfect fifth?
Seven, as in C up to G. Turn it upside down and G up to C is five semitones, a perfect fourth. In equal temperament that fifth is a frequency ratio of 2^(7/12), or 1.4983 - a whisper under the pure 3:2 a violinist would play.
What is the interval from C to E flat?
Three semitones, a minor third - the interval that makes a chord sound minor. Choose D# in the menus, since the tool spells everything with sharps and D# is the same pitch as Eb.
Why is the tritone called a tritone rather than a fourth or fifth?
Six semitones is exactly half an octave, so it inverts to itself and sits between the two. Whether it is written as an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th depends on how the notes are spelled, which this note list cannot show.