Major 3rd

4 semitones — the interval that makes a noteset major

Degree 3Solfège: miNotation: M3

The major 3rd is an interval of 4 semitones, and is what makes a noteset major — bright, warm, and consonant. It defines the major triad, the major pentatonic, and all three major major modes (ionian, lydian, mixolydian), and rings out early in the harmonic series as the 5th harmonic (5:4).

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The instrumentTap a note to hear it.
The major 3rd in the harmonic series
f2f3f4f4f completes 4 cycles in one period of the sum4 cycles5f5f completes 5 cycles in one period of the sum5 cycles6f7f8f9f10f11f12f13f14f15f16fsum5:4 — the higher note vibrates 5 times for every 4 of the lower: harmonics 5 and 4 of one fundamental5:414¢ — this pure ratio is 14 cents narrower than the equal-tempered major 3rd an instrument plays; a semitone is 100 cents−14¢3: the major 3rd — the interval's degree above the root, as the app writes it3The sum repeats every 4 cycles of 4f — the shorter this is, the more simply the two notes fit together, and the more consonant the intervalrepeats every 4 cycles16 cycles of 4f
Harmonic seriesEach row is one harmonic of the note — n times the fundamental's frequency, about 1/n of its strength — faster and fainter as it climbs. The rows in ink are where the chosen interval first arises. The bottom row is the one your ear actually receives: those rows added, a single wave. The shaded band is one repeat of it — the shorter that pattern, the sooner the ear settles on it as one sound. Harmonics 4 and 5 — the ratio 5:4: a major 3rd. Together they repeat every 4 cycles of the lower note — the shorter that pattern, the sooner your ear has heard it come round enough times to settle on one sound. Equal temperament tunes it 14¢ wider.

Related

Contained byIntervalsRelatedSolfègeMajor TriadMajor PentatonicIonian (Major)ConsonanceDerived fromHarmonic SeriesReferenced byMinor 6th

Practiced in

3rd Bounce