Minor 3rd

3 semitones — the interval that makes a noteset minor

Degree ♭3Solfège: meNotation: m3

The minor 3rd is an interval of 3 semitones, and is what makes a noteset minor — warm, dark, melancholic, yet consonant. It defines the minor triad and all three minor major modes (aeolian, dorian, phrygian), and is derived from the 6th harmonic (6:5).

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The instrumentTap a note to hear it.
The minor 3rd in the harmonic series
f2f3f4f5f5f completes 5 cycles in one period of the sum5 cycles6f6f completes 6 cycles in one period of the sum6 cycles7f8f9f10f11f12f13f14f15f16fsum6:5 — the higher note vibrates 6 times for every 5 of the lower: harmonics 6 and 5 of one fundamental6:516¢ — this pure ratio is 16 cents wider than the equal-tempered minor 3rd an instrument plays; a semitone is 100 cents+16¢♭3: the minor 3rd — the interval's degree above the root, as the app writes it♭3The sum repeats every 5 cycles of 5f — the shorter this is, the more simply the two notes fit together, and the more consonant the intervalrepeats every 5 cycles16 cycles of 5f
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 5 and 6 — the ratio 6:5: a minor 3rd. Together they repeat every 5 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 16¢ narrower.

Related

Contained byIntervalsRelatedSolfègeMinor TriadConsonanceDerived fromHarmonic SeriesReferenced byMajor 6th