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Information about the perfect fifth interval

Name

This is the perfect fifth interval.

Abbreviation

This interval is abbreviated with P5.

Practice the P5 interval

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Construct

How to construct the perfect fifth interval?

To construct an interval correctly you must always use two steps.

1 • Count the amount of naturals used
2 • Count the semitone steps between the two notes

At first, and with easy intervals, this may seem unnecessary, but when advancing to more difficult intervals and musical keys they will become more mandatory.

The following example is for a minor second from C3. Outcome: G3

1 • The perfect fifth spans 5 naturals.
C3  ↠  D3  ↠  E3  ↠  F3  ↠  G3
2 • The perfect fifth has 7 semitones between the notes.
C3  ↠  C3  ↠  D3  ↠  D3  ↠  E3  ↠  F3  ↠  F3  ↠  G3

Cheatsheet

The perfect fifth transposed from each note

C
G
C
G
C
G
D
A
D
A
D
A
E
B
E
B
E
B
F
C
F
C
F
C
G
D
G
D
G
D
A
E
A
E
A
E
B
F
B
F
B
F

Practice the P5 interval

Open the app and start your daily workout!

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Chords

Which chords use the perfect fifth interval?

Scales

Which scales use the perfect fifth interval?

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