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1 semitone · a half step · pure 16:15

The minor second

One semitone, the step from one piano key to the very next: a half step. Played one after the other it's the smallest move in a tune; played together it clashes, two notes rubbing against each other.

Songs that start with a minor second

Going up: Ode to Joy, after its repeated first note (the third note, E to F in C). Going down: Joy to the World, whose first two notes step down a half step.

Singing a half step in tune

Half steps are easy to sing the wrong size, and a scale whose half steps sag goes flat. Think of the step as tiny and the upper note as close and bright, and land on it directly, without sliding. In a major scale, the half steps are between the 3rd and 4th notes (mi to fa) and the 7th and 8th (ti to do).

More intervals

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Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up.
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Questions

What is a minor second?

An interval of one semitone, the smallest step on a piano: C to D♭, or E to F. It's also called a half step.

Is a half step the same as a minor second?

Usually, yes. Strictly, C to C♯ is an augmented unison and C to D♭ a minor second, but they sound the same on a piano.

Why does a minor second sound dissonant?

Its two notes are so close that they beat against each other quickly, which the ear hears as rough. That tension is why it pulls so strongly toward resolving.

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