8 semitones · pure 8:5
The minor sixth
Eight semitones, a wide leap with a yearning sound. Turned upside down, it's a major third: C up to A♭ is a minor sixth, A♭ up to C a major third.
A song with a minor sixth
Going up: Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, from 1902, leaps a minor sixth up to its first high note. For a minor sixth going down there's no famous public-domain tune we'd vouch for.
Hearing it as a third turned over
If the leap is hard to pitch, sing the octave and come down a major third: C up to C, down to A♭, is the same as C up a minor sixth. Pure, it's 8:5, about 14 cents (a cent is a hundredth of a semitone) wider than a piano's, the mirror of the pure major third.
More intervals
- Minor secondOde to Joy (after the repeated first note)
- Major secondHappy Birthday (after the repeated first note)
- Minor thirdGreensleeves
- Major thirdWhen the Saints Go Marching In
- Perfect fourthAmazing Grace; Here Comes the Bride
- Tritone
- Perfect fifthTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (after the repeated first note)
- Major sixthMy Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
- Minor seventh
- Major seventh
- OctaveTake Me Out to the Ball Game
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Questions
What is a minor sixth?
An interval of eight semitones: C to A♭, or E to C.
How do I tell a minor sixth from a major sixth?
The major sixth is one semitone wider and sounds bright, like My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean; the minor sixth sounds darker and more yearning.
Is a minor sixth the same as an augmented fifth?
On a piano they sound the same, but they're spelled differently: C to A♭ is a minor sixth, C to G♯ an augmented fifth, the top of an augmented chord.
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