Understanding Musical Intervals For Guitar (Music Theory You Need To Know)

Let's talk about musical intervals on guitar. In this video I discuss what an intervals is and why you need to know them. Because musical intervals are the building block of music this is key to connecting music theory with seeing and play chords, scales and arpeggios.
I dig into major and minor intervals, the tritone and the symmetry of the 12 fret octave by means of what I call the interval seesaw.
Watch these videos next:
Inverting intervals: • Inverting Intervals Th...
Musical alphabet video: • The Guitar Notes Of Th...
#intervals #intervalseesaw #musicalintervals
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[@rickysguitar]

This video tutorial is part of a series on understanding intervals and making intelligent reliable note choices Start here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6HOqaJrn7uUb7s Watch This next: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5-0kH9npraji8k PLAYLIST: .kzbin.info/aero/PLkIKuUCloUzcUW0wL7q1NNUPaMLIvpSTS Do you like my Free PDFs for my guitar lessons? Support my channel and grab a copy of my new book! Containing lesson diagrams for 80 of my most useful lessons here on my KZbin channel. All my hand written PDFs have been turned into Super Easy to Read graphic designed reference material to help you in your guitar learning journey. Each lesson in the book has a handy easy to type link to the video tutorial, so you can follow along. It’s a win/win way to support my work here on KZbin, and a much appreciated purchase. Spiral Bound (Lulu): rickysguitar.com/spiral Paperback (Amazon): rickysguitar.com/paperback eBook coming soon! What’s in the book? Watch This Short Video kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWrUaqN6j6icq6M

[@cammophatz1357]

Ricky has a teaching style that I can listen to over and over until I get it.

[@johnverhines9511]

Been playing for 50 years there was no KZbin then. Self taught missed a lot along the way. Plateaued 30 years ago going back to basics, starting over again after a bad car crash damaged my brain a lot. Realizing details that I completely missed before.

[@leightonslife4030]

I've done many courses online (fender play etc )and I've learned more here than anywhere else! You are amazing ❤️

[@rickysguitar]

Happy to hear that Leighton! I've never tried those as I imagine it's the same old same old regurgitated stuff lol. Thank you for watching :)

[@timothymathew1540]

I tried looking at a 100 websites and you are the only one who explains in such a way that newbies like me have a chance to grow

[@k2dave1969]

Ricky you are one of three music theory people on KZbin I watch and your delivery and knowledge of this material is awesome. I have learned more from you than the others. I now have to put it on the instrument and remember when playing what I am trying to achieve.

[@eduardois7003]

What else can I say Rick... every class of you is so good. Thanks maestro!

[@phiddler1]

The 4th and 5th are perfect multipliers of root frequency

[@alangordon4793]

I had ignored your interval lessons, "Don't need that, I understand intervals." Wrong. I had to come back to your interval lessons, to really understand, get them under my fingers, after working with your CAGED octave lesson, for the second or third time! Visited more than once, not because I'm hopelessly thick, but due to the amount of information you put into your lessons that, for me, starts to really unfold the more I work with and think about your lessons. Pennies start dropping all over the place, Intervals, CAGED chords/scales, Pentatonic, eg. Em, Gmaj pentatonic. Fantastic, keep up the good work. ps, I'll save up the dropped pennies and send you some 😊Thanks Ricky.

[@williamweiss3620]

I enjoy drawing the lessons as you do. It helps me to get it in my brain. I use to be the rhythm player in a terrible band when I was younger. I only knew the basic cowboy chords. I'm now 66 years young and trying to learn theory the right way. I want to thank you again for the awesome lessons. Love you all Bill.

[@eagles_s]

Love the British Humour. Hill Street Blues theme is a Textbook Mike Post television theme. The more i study the more sensitive my ers seem to be to intervals nd such.

[@thunderace4588]

This lesson helped me to understand musical intervals and how to use them to make scales and chords. I am looking forward to your next lesson. Thank you Ricky.

[@rickysguitar]

Glad it was helpful! More on the way :)

[@garrymoss8021]

Whatever you do, Ricky, don't lose that number.

[@KellyMillerGerlach]

Found your channel about 2 weeks ago and I am really enjoying it. I have stayed away from theory, self teaching myself the guitar. I realized I was missing so many opportunities with little to no understanding of the theory behind it. Thank you for making it interesting, easy and enjoyable!

[@ricaa50]

Thank you again for helping with more theory training. Meaningful as always.

[@rickysguitar]

More to come Ric!

[@verdielg]

Hi Ricky, just wanted to share my thoughts and observations on the symmetry and balance of the musical scales and intervals that you so perfectly illustrated here. I discovered some time ago the significance of the numbers 7 and 12 in the bible; 7 representing completeness or totality in time/events as in the 7 days of the week, the 7th day sabbath rest, forgiving our debtors 7 x 7, the 7 churches, spirits and lampstands in the old testament sanctuary etc, and then the number 12 representing the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 Apostles, the 12 calendar months of the year etc and I couldn't help but reflect on this as a musician. I now believe that the musical scale and its intervals were indeed purposely designed for and around concepts in time and events pertaining to the Christian God and the whole salvation story such that even our ears can hear and understand its perfect symmetry of sound and harmony. Even the Gregorian chants around the 4th and 5th degrees as mentioned are linked to tones that are pleasing to God by the church. There is also something written in the Book of Daniel Chp 9, verses 26 and 27 which talks about the Messiah being cutoff but not for Himself in the middle of the week (3 1/2 days) that makes me think about the tritone. Its smack in the middle of the scale and sounds dissonant and very off key. I have also heard of the tritone being described as something dark and sinister as well. So perhaps the harmony and sound of the scales also reveal something of the life of Christ Himself and the events surrounding of His death and crucifixion where He was literally cutoff. Based on the above, I am of the belief that the world will be renewed/reset within its 7,000th year if this pattern is maintained. We are presently in the year 2023 AD and the old testament records a span of 4000 years BC approx. This means that we are just over 6,000 years in or in the 6th interval of the time scale which is just a 1/2 step away from a full octave. If this is true then Judgement Day is not too far away. Just my humble thoughts of course... 🙂

[@denariusshekels]

Great lesson , thanks Ricky.

[@rickysguitar]

My pleasure!

[@jontaylor157]

Eyup Ricky! Another brilliant explanation. I look forward to the next part. Keep up the good work.

[@michaelwhalen7991]

Ricky , you are such a great teacher ! You make the complexities of music so easy to grasp. So that the student gets the big picture, and can apply the knowledge learned. Much thanks, so glad I found your channel.

[@Redheadedlady55]

~Definitely learning more from your way of teaching than anyone out there...tjank you so much Ricky. Sandy here in Louisiana.

[@MJayeG]

Awesome stuff. Look forward to next one.

[@rpod1246]

Thank you for another well done lesson, you are greatly expanding my musical universe ! I understood your explanation clearly, looking forward to next lesson.

[@rickysguitar]

You're very welcome!

[@deepakrebentisch9173]

Sir Rick Komisky you deserve a PhD in guitar ,God Bless You .

[@ianmcevoy9936]

Thank you.

[@WimBlock]

Thanks Ricky!

[@JB-se2ef]

Love it learning lowers Thanks

[@RonMaxfield]

"GUITAR POWER" Super, Cool, Keen and Groovy! I WIKE IT yep I said I WIKE IT.🤪🥴. Great job Ricky. 50 year guitar picker and I ain't never no'd this before. Thank you

[@MultiCugel]

Learning the intervals thanks!

[@oceanroamer2011]

Great video Ricky. Thank you.

[@juliodefreitas157]

Awesome lesson. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@Cacique936]

Ricki you are the best, I just purchased your book it is great. You are the only instructor that keep me smiling the whole lesson. Keep it going. BC.

[@rickysguitar]

Cheers Bill! I appreciate the support my friend :) Make sure you join the Facebook group!

[@empowerscommunication5077]

Your break downs are absolutely amazing. I look forward to learning more from you

[@Born2RiffRock]

This lesson was totally amazing .. Thank you.

[@DerekMetzger2803]

Beautifully explained Ricky. Thanks 🎉

[@ABrookfire]

Very interesting ! Thx!

[@comicmorphiclong-boxevolut4773]

Thanks Ricky, that cleared up a lot of confusion!

[@jasonsheets104]

Another great lesson. Can’t wait to see the rest of this series!

[@rickysguitar]

Glad you enjoyed it Jason! Thanks for watching. More to come!

[@InsolentMusicalPeasant]

Brilliant way of explaining it. I'm off to the other lesson now. Learning all of this is so addicting.

[@rickysguitar]

Eyup Rollo! Super stoked you're getting into my content. It's all stuff I've taught for years and I know it's useful. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment :)

[@gordonroylambert]

Thanks!

[@rickysguitar]

Seriously Gord! Thank YOU! I appreciate your generosity :)

[@jameswoodley9409]

Great theory lesson

[@brianambelis5869]

you really do give gold in your lessons 😊

[@richardrichard5409]

Fantastic Ricky, many thanks for the upload 😎

[@duesenberger]

Thx for this video. I love how You explain and visualise therse concepts. Really helps a lot!

[@kenchapman2126]

This is great but will have to watch it a few times to get the gist.

[@rickysguitar]

Sometimes it takes a few goes! I did a livestream last Wednesday on intervals as well you might enjoy and find helps. kzbin.infospgEK81xR_c

[@jmorgan5856]

Ricky thank you so much. You explain things very well.

[@philb1649]

Always very informative Ricky. Learning such a lot. Thanks

[@ralphfrasier2079]

Thank you for the new insight sir! I have been trying to wrap my mind around interval theory for some time.

[@CodyHa420]

very good lesson here

[@ronniemorrison9060]

Ricky you are a legend, thank you so much, keep them coming.

[@aaronyong9158]

Thanks for this! Overall Trying to understand the guitar fretboard and your playlist helps alot! Guess the key is getting familiar with using all this knowledge so I'm rewatching around your playlist (and liking them as they go along) to try and get a hang of it. you've made fretboard familiarization alot less daunting for me, really appreciate it! 👍

[@neilrobinson7615]

Great presentation, easily understandable.

[@Redheadedlady55]

~This was amazing...Leonard Cohen sang about 4th & 5ths

[@CarolsGrandAdventure]

Bought a guitar April 2020 during lockdown here in the states and a Hal Leonard method book. As a senior learner (lolz) I have not let one day go by not practicing and learning. What an absolute eye opener your videos are. Thanks so very much for giving me lots of "ah-ha" moments! Love when it finally clicks!

[@puffinlittle]

Greetings, thanks for taking the time to explain this. Really helps wrap my head around it. pax, PL

[@hb2289]

Liked and subscribed and thank you for the wisdom.

[@mikealgarvin8122]

Best videos on the tube. Thank you Sir. Best wishes from Texas.

[@katMFpugs]

You make learning fun 💪

[@mikemcglone3184]

Brilliant delivery and accent too!

[@Mudplucker]

Another guitar gold fest 👍🏻thanks Ricky you da man 😉

[@nbenning25]

Awesome lesson Ricky! Your explanation was very helpful in my understanding the intervals and their relationships. Cheers!

[@kevinking2468]

Do dig!

[@rickyred001]

brilliant explanation, cheers ricky

[@rickysguitar]

Cheers Richard! Glad you liked it!

[@daverichards6557]

EyUp! 2am, just watched this. Frigging Awesome, I feel like Einstein. Going to bed now. Cheers Rick

[@rickysguitar]

Eyup Dave! Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for watching.

[@EnglishVeteran]

Excellent very interesting Ricky!

[@rickysguitar]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@trusarmor4957]

good god, I get it now. i wanna like this vid twice.

[@petercarelse752]

Love it from Cape Town 😍👏

[@rickysguitar]

I appreciate you taking the time to watch Peter!

[@Alzermull]

Simply the best or its a ten from Len, great stuff Ricky as always U have a great way of teaching and helping us students to understand, fair play and much appreciated,,, Alan,,,,,,.

[@rickysguitar]

Thanks Alan.

[@johncallander6747]

for anyone who doesn't understand the relevance between feelings and music theory. Feelings ? The next thing is he will be asking you to have fun !

[@iriscaveney6567]

Your lessons are amazing ricky.. I have printed all the pdf's for your videos and put them in a folder but I would really love some online classes and would happily pay for them.

[@rickysguitar]

Hey Iris! That’s what I’m beavering away at. I haven’t published anything because I’m filming a video course that’s all organised and I’m hoping to do a live class with it when it launches 🚀

[@iriscaveney6567]

Woop hoop count me in. Can't wait to see this. Thank you so much for all your hard work to keep us all busy learning and unlocking all the puzzles that a guitar can bring. I really appreciate everything you do 👍

[@NatSatFat]

This is another Brill lecture! you have made the Major scale look so simplistic in explanation, and along with the very usefull visual of Minor & Major is fantastic. I would like to see with your skills, an explanation of a few more scales this way you have done it, like the natural minor and blues scale. BUT would be excellent with PDF's to properly visualise your brill lectures. it says on the vid from 14 June 2020 PDF coming soon but it is the end ogf August 2020 still none?.

[@photodrones]

This is a fantastic insight into something which I would like to learn more. It would be really nice to see the seesaw in action. Being dyslexic is tricky when it comes to all those flats and sharps and notes. but the sandwich is for me, the one. Please show us how to make a sandwich on the guitar.

[@andrewkolopi1774]

Very good but can you follow up with a demo on the guitar fretboard. Thanks

[@jameslong4929]

Does the B string having the F major note on the 6th fret instead of a sharp or flat affect anything where we have the 3rd between the G and B string. One of the notes being on the pivot point instead of a fret higher like the other strings. Does this affect the balance I guess is what I'm asking. I'm enjoying these by the way. I'm one of those players who's played for 20 years not really knowing the notes over the entire fret board. These videos have been way useful.

[@rickysguitar]

The F note on the 6th fret is the tritone on the B string. Alphabet names only have Major or minor when we talk about key. Intervals have numbers as labels. Like I said it’s all about the distance between one note and another. The symmetry I demonstrated exists on any string and encompasses 12 frets. It’s a static framework that never changes. For example a minor 3rd will always be a step and 1/2 step up or down. Thank you for your question. I’ll dig into it in the next lesson. Glad you’re enjoying these lessons

[@anneglacken4525]

Hi Ricky thanks so much for your great lessons - wonder if you can help (or suggest maybe a good book???) , I want to start practicing scales but am afraid I will get the finger positioning wrong and I don't want to have to "unlearn" at a later stage as I feel this would be nigh on impossible - do you have any suggestions that could help ??? once again- thanks very much - you are truly appreciated.

[@MusicManFernando]

Good lesson. I find this Major and Minor interval thing confusing.

[@richardsnodgrass66]

I noticed the technicord second is larger is there a significance and how can I use it

[@eagles_s]

The bit i referred to is What you were singing at the beginning....

[@rickysguitar]

Haha! That was me goofing about. *goes to listen to Hill st blues theme...

[@Apolo62]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@user-fi7dv4cz1d]

My question is from where do you start counting? Alan from Switzerland

[@elderberry-hamster]

Very informative...thanks Ricky, but I'm gaining too much weight thinking about those delicious pieces of bread you embedded in my mind!!

[@rickysguitar]

Haha! You and me both! I LOVE fried bread.Maybe we should eat more lemon! Thanks for watching Ross :)

[@eagles_s]

Was that the Hill STreet Blues Theme?

[@rickysguitar]

I’m not sure which bit you meant?

[@derekcrook3723]

I lived in Australia many years ago and you could not butter bread without it breaking ..im pretty sure it was China wheat .

[@darylthompson744]

Is this the chromatic scale?

[@Danno-64]

Hey Ricky - it could just be me misunderstanding something here. It seems from your diagram where you are circling the Major and minor 2nd notes that the minor 2nd is being flattened to an F, whereas I think in the key of Em the 2nd note is F#. Please could you clarify. The rest of the transpositions between Major and minor look fine.

[@richardstones6445]

Gotta be honest... I'm making myself a sliced lemon sandwich straight away.

[@johncallander6747]

For anyone who doesn't understand the relevance of intervals in music theory and those who think they do. Humor ?The next thing he will be stressing is to have fun when you learn. Josephus Boundarbie would not approve- The Dickens you say !

[@livealoha50f]

The wonderful opposite of Rick Beato…. Which would make Rick Beato - Ricky Comiskey’s evil opposite… lol

[@rickysguitar]

I'm a massive Rick Beato fan tbf lol

[@WimBlock]

Thanks Ricky!

[@southsideronnie]

Thanks Ricky!