Ear Fusion Guitar Lessons - How To Play By Ear

Relative pitch

            Relative pitch refers to the difference in speed of the string vibrations of different tones. I know that sounds tricky…read it again. Tones sound different because each tone a string makes is the result of how fast that string is vibrating. Longer, thicker strings vibrate slower and shorter, thinner string vibrate faster…that’s why, when you press a fret, you are making the string shorter so the pitch goes up and also as you move from low pitch or bottom E to high pitch or top E, the pitch goes up as the strings get thinner.

Now, notice the intervals between the notes on figure 7

 FIGURE 7

            We know that from C to D is 1 whole step (2 frets)…and we also see that D is the 2^nd note of the C major scale…so in the key of C, D would be a Major 2^nd interval. From C to E we move up 4 frets or 2 whole steps. F is a Major 4^th, G is a Major 5^th, A is a Major 6^th and B is a Major 7^th. We know that these intervals will always go according to the intervals of the Major scale. (“Major” doesn’t always have to be capitalized…I just do it so you remember the term “Major” as opposed to “minor”)          

Next - Lesson #10 - Different Keys