Give your relative pitch training a powerful upgrade! Learn how to effortlessly identify the sharp, unstable sound of the tritone with our expert ear training guide and handpicked playlist.
Play music with confidence. Discover tips, technical guides, and best practices in our monthly newsletter just for musicians.
Master interval recognition with real music. This hub links every Sonid ear-training playlist post—handpicked songs for P1, m2, M2, m3, M3, P4, P5, m6, M6, m7, M7, and P8—plus a practical study path for relative pitch.
Give your relative pitch training a powerful upgrade! Learn how to effortlessly identify the rich, unresolved sound of the minor seventh interval with our expert guide and custom tracklist.
Unlock one of the most powerful sounds in music! Master the perfect fifth interval with our ultimate ear training guide, pro tips, and a handpicked playlist.
Add a splash of color to your relative pitch skills! Learn how to effortlessly identify the warm and distinctive major sixth interval with our expert guide and custom tracklist.
We are back with our weekly playlist! This week, we are shining the spotlight on the major seventh interval with a handpicked selection of incredible songs to help you train your ears.
We've made a new Spotify Playlist for you! This time we take a look at the perfect octave and teach you how to identify it by ear.
We are back with our weekly playlist! This week, we are shining the spotlight on the minor second interval with a handpicked selection of ten incredible songs to help you train your ears.
Today we want to share our new Spotify Playlist with you! This time it's all about the minor third interval.
Today we start something new: Sonids Spotify Playlists! We start with the Perfect Unison interval.
We are back with our weekly playlist! This week, we are shining the spotlight on the major third interval with a handpicked selection of ten incredible songs to help you train your ears.
Ready to master relative pitch? Explore our ultimate ear training guide to the perfect fourth interval, featuring expert recognition tips and an essential playlist.
In the first instrumental section of this long title track, you hear a driving guitar riff. The tritone forms the heart of this main riff and reinforces the theatrical, alienating feel of the track.
This track is a well-known example in jazz improvisation. Saxophonist Sonny Rollins opens his solo with two descending notes that form a tritone. That immediately sets a gritty, bluesy character.
The tritone appears in gentle pop ballads too. In this song it is woven subtly into the vocal melody. You hear the leap in the lyrics right between "her-all" and "you-saw", giving the melody a slightly wistful colour.
In this famous musical classic, the tritone is used to express longing. You hear the interval in the vocal line on the name "Ma-ri-a". The melody resolves immediately afterward, creating a romantic, hopeful effect.
Composer Danny Elfman uses the tritone right at the start of the theme. You hear the interval on the very first syllables when the choir sings "The Simp-sons". That gives the opening an instantly recognisable, playful character.
This song is considered the blueprint for heavy metal. In the guitar intro Tony Iommi first plays an octave, then moves to a descending tritone. Combined with the slow tempo and the sound of rain, that creates the characteristic ominous atmosphere.
The very first two notes of the famous guitar intro form a tritone together. That gives the song psychedelic, driving tension from the first second.
Singer Eddie Vedder uses the interval in the verses of this grunge hit. At the start of each line he sings a descending two-note leap that forms a tritone. That gives his vocal style a raw, recognisable character.
Part of our ultimate ear training songlist hub—all interval playlists in one place.
Ready to train your ears to recognize one of music’s most striking intervals? We have built a brand-new ear training guide for you! Today, we are focusing on the tritone and sharing the best techniques to help you instantly identify its sharp, restless sound whenever you hear it.
In music theory, the tritone is an interval that spans exactly six semitones (or half steps). In notation it is also called an augmented fourth (A4) or a diminished fifth. It is famous for its abrasive, unsettling sound.
Whether you are watching a tense film, listening to a metal track, or hearing the intro to The Simpsons, you have likely encountered this interval. What makes it so special?
The tritone sits exactly at the midpoint of the octave. If you play from F to B, and then from B to F again, you hear two tritones in a row—you have risen exactly one octave.
The interval lies precisely between the two most consonant intervals: the perfect fourth and the perfect fifth. It also appears in the minor scale. Because of its central position, it sounds inherently unstable.
The name depends on the root note you measure from:
Although you play exactly the same keys, musical context determines the name.
Try it yourself? Play an F and then a B. You will notice right away that this interval feels unstable. Resolve it by moving up a semitone to C—a perfect fifth above F.
Because of its dissonance, the tritone was long regarded as the devil’s interval. Though beloved in metal, it shows up just as often in many other styles.
Instead of practicing with boring, clinical beeps, we believe the fastest way to build flawless relative pitch is by listening to real songs. For this edition, we have curated a diverse selection highlighting the tritone in memorable melodic moments.
