Interval · 2 half steps
Major second
A major second is 2 half steps (also called whole step, whole tone). From C, a major second up is D.
- Half steps
- 2
- Short name
- M2
- Guitar frets
- 2
How it sounds
A whole step, the distance between most neighboring notes in a major scale. Melodies move by seconds more than by anything else, so this one sounds like ordinary forward motion.
Songs to remember it by
Hum the start of Frère Jacques or Do-Re-Mi (“Do, a deer”). The jump between the first two notes is a major second. Reference songs get you started; after a while you will hear the interval itself.
On the guitar
2 frets up on the same string. With the lower note on the low E or A string in standard tuning; shapes that cross from the G string to the B string move up one fret.
A major second up from every note
| From | Up a major second | Hear it |
|---|---|---|
| C | D | |
| D♭ | E♭ | |
| D | E | |
| E♭ | F | |
| E | F♯ | |
| F | G | |
| F♯ | G♯ | |
| G | A | |
| A♭ | B♭ | |
| A | B | |
| B♭ | C | |
| B | C♯ |
This interval is one of the answers in the game’s “How far apart?” round.