Practice

The Minor 2nd Interval (m2)

An interval is the distance between two notes, counted in semitones. Each of the thirteen simple intervals has its own page: reference songs that open with it, where it sits on the guitar fretboard, its inversion, and the chords built from it.

The minor 2nd spans one semitone — the tightest, tensest step — a half step. It does not land on a major-scale degree from the tonic, which is exactly why it sounds so colorful — it lives outside the key. Inverted (the lower note moved up an octave) it becomes the major 7th.

The classic way to internalize it: sing a song that opens with it — Jaws (main theme) (the two alternating notes of the shark motif); Für Elise (the opening E–D# alternation); Joy to the World (the first step of its descending major scale). You also hear the minor 2nd inside chords built on it, like 7b9. Then drill it on the ear trainer until you name it without thinking.