Interval · M2 · 2 half steps
The major second
A major second is 2 half steps wide, spanning two letter names: C to D.
- Half steps2
- Letter names2
- From CC–D
- Inverts tominor seventh
The major second on the staff
An interval’s number counts letter names from the bottom note to the top, both included: C and D is two, a second. On the staff, one note is on a line and the other in the space right next to it. Played together, the two heads can’t sit one above the other, so they’re written side by side, touching the stem from either side.
The number alone doesn’t make it a major second: major means exactly 2 half steps. Check for sharps and flats, including the key signature: C–D is a major second, but change one note by a half step and the same second on the staff becomes a minor second or something rarer.
Each example below plays the two notes one after the other (a melodic interval), then together (a harmonic interval).
On the piano
Count half steps: every key, black or white, is one half step from the next. From middle C, the major second is the 2nd key up, D.
Skip exactly one key, black or white. From C, D, F, G or A, the next white key up is a major second away. From E and B the next white key is only a half step up, so the major second is the black key above it: F♯ and C♯.
On the white keys alone, the major seconds are C–D, D–E, F–G, G–A and A–B.
How a major second sounds
A major second is the plain, everyday step of most melodies: a note moving to its neighbour in the scale. Played together, the two notes still rub, but more gently than a minor second, with a soft, blurred sound.
In harmony, it’s a dissonance: the two notes clash and want to move.
Tunes that start with it
- Frère Jacques starts with a major second up: “Frè-re” is C to D.
- In Happy Birthday, after the repeated first note, “Hap-py Birth-” rises a major second.
- Mary Had a Little Lamb begins with a major second down: “Ma-ry” is E to D.
Hum the tune’s first two notes and you have the interval: a quick way to sing one before you play it.
Where you’ll meet it
Five of the seven steps in a major scale are major seconds; the other two are minor seconds. Most beginner pieces move by step in a five-finger position, so the major second is the interval you will read most often.
Turned upside down, with the bottom note moved up an octave, a major second becomes a minor seventh: 2 and 10 half steps make an octave, and the letter numbers always add up to nine (2 + 7).
To read it fast in real music, practise intervals the way you read words: as shapes. Level 1: right hand moving by step in the free sight-reading exercises has plenty of them.
Quiz: the major second
Ten questions: name the interval on the staff, among its neighbours, and play a major second above a written note on the piano below, a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys.
The quiz needs JavaScript.
A major second above every note
| From | A major second up |
|---|---|
| C | D |
| C♯ | D♯ |
| D | E |
| E♭ | F |
| E | F♯ |
| F | G |
| F♯ | G♯ |
| G | A |
| A♭ | B♭ |
| A | B |
| B♭ | C |
| B | C♯ |
Each one is spelt with the 2nd letter up, which is why some need a sharp or flat that looks unusual, like C♯ up to D♯.
Questions
How many half steps are in a major second?
2 half steps, or 1 whole step. Count every key, black and white, from the bottom note up to the top one: C to D is a major second.
What is a major second above C?
D. It’s spelt with the 2nd letter up from C (C and D).
What is the inversion of a major second?
A minor seventh. Move the bottom note up an octave and the two half steps become ten: major second and minor seventh add up to an octave.
How do you recognise a major second on the staff?
One note is on a line and the other in the space right next to it. Played together, the two heads can’t sit one above the other, so they’re written side by side, touching the stem from either side. That tells you the letter distance; then check the sharps, flats and key signature to tell major from minor.
What song starts with a major second?
Frère Jacques starts with a major second up: “Frè-re” is C to D.
Hear every interval in real music
Pianomi, a free sight-reading app for piano, writes new pieces at your level and listens to your MIDI keyboard, so intervals become shapes you read without counting.