5 semitones · pure 4:3
The perfect fourth
Five semitones, an open, strong leap. A huge number of tunes begin with a fourth going up, from the note before the beat to the note on it.
Songs that start with a perfect fourth
Going up: Amazing Grace ("A-ma") and Here Comes the Bride, from Wagner's Lohengrin. Going down: Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, whose first notes leap down a fourth.
The fourth and the fifth
A fourth and a fifth fill an octave between them: C up to F is a fourth, F up to C a fifth. So a fourth is a fifth turned upside down. The common pickup from so up to do is a fourth for the same reason: so is a fifth above the lower do and a fourth below the upper one.
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
- Tritone
- Perfect fifthTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (after the repeated first note)
- Minor sixthThe Entertainer (its first high note)
- Major sixthMy Bonnie Lies over the Ocean
- Minor seventh
- Major seventh
- OctaveTake Me Out to the Ball Game
Free tools by Stackapella
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Stackapella teaches you to sing harmony one part at a time, right in your browser.
- A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
- Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
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Questions
What is a perfect fourth?
An interval of five semitones: C to F, or G to C. Its pure ratio is 4:3.
Why is it called perfect?
Fourths, fifths, unisons and octaves are called perfect because their notes blend so simply; they have no major or minor form, only augmented or diminished ones.
How do I tell a fourth from a fifth?
Think of Amazing Grace for a fourth going up and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for a fifth. The fifth is two semitones wider and sounds more open.
More free tools
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