Hearing and Singing Fourths

Review

This lesson assumes that you are already familiar with Fourths. If you have logged in and been following the lessons and practice apps in order you should already be familiar with them.

If not, you can learn about Fourths by going to Perfect Intervals.

If you have not done so already, you will need to be able to sing unisons and seconds How to Hear Unisons and Seconds and Thirds How to Hear Thirds.

Fourths

Hearing

When identifying and singing Fourths by ear, we will not include diminished 4ths because they will sound identical to a major 3rd.

The Tritone is another name for the augmented 4th. We will use it instead of the term "augmented 4th" when identifying the interval by ear because the augmented 4th and diminished 5th sound identical.

Singing

When singing melodies it is helpful to know that the diminished 4th only occurs between fa and ti in the major scale. All other 4ths in the major scale are Perfect 4ths.

The following chart has some pointers to help you hear and sing fourths. Some people find it easier to associate an interval with a song. There are a few examples listed in the chart, but you can find many more by searching online for 'Songs that begin with a [insert interval here]'.

Interval
Melodic Sound
Harmonic Sound
Music that begins with a this interval
Augmented 4th/Tritone (A4)
Difficult to sing and typically resolves outward
Very unstable and wants to resolve outward
"Maria" from West Side Story
Perfect 4th (P4)
Sounds like the bass line at the end of a song
Less stable than 3rd or 5th, but not dissonant
Here Comes the Bride

Return to Hearing Music Hearing Unisons - 4ths