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Half Steps and Whole Steps

Module by: Catherine Schmidt-Jones. E-mail the author

Summary: The pitch of a note is how high or low it sounds. The distance between two pitches can be measured in half steps and whole steps.

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The pitch of a note is how high or low it sounds. Musicians often find it useful to talk about how much higher or lower one note is than another. This distance between two pitches is called the interval between them. The short distance from one note to the next closest note higher or lower is called a half step or semi-tone.

Figure 1: Three half-step intervals: between C and C sharp(or D flat); between E and F; and between G sharp (or A flat) and A.
Half Steps
(a)
Figure 1(a) (6d.gif)
(b)
Figure 1(b) (6f.gif)

Listen to the half steps in the example.

The intervals look different on a staff; sometimes they are on the same line, sometimes not. But it is clear at the keyboard that in each case there is no note in between them.

So a scale that goes up or down by half steps, a chromatic scale plays all the notes on both the white and black keys on the piano. It also plays all the notes easily available on most instruments. (Some exceptions are trombones and fretless stringed instruments like the violin.)

Figure 2: All intervals in a chromatic scale are half steps. The result is a scale that plays all the notes easily available on most instruments.
Chromatic Scale
Chromatic Scale (6a.gif)

Listen to a chromatic scale.

If you go up or down two half steps from one note to another, then those notes are a whole step, or whole tone apart.

Figure 3: Three whole step intervals: between C and D; between E and F sharp; and between G sharp and A sharp (or A flat and B flat).
Whole Steps
(a)
Figure 3(a) (6e.gif)
(b)
Figure 3(b) (6i.gif)

A whole tone scale, a scale made only of whole steps sounds very different from a chromatic scale.

Figure 4: All intervals in a whole tone scale are whole steps.
Whole Tone Scale
Whole Tone Scale (6b.gif)

Listen to a whole tone scale.

You can count any number of whole steps or half steps between notes; just remember to count all sharp or flat notes (the black keys on a keyboard) as well as all the natural notes (the white keys) that are in between.

Example 1

The interval between C and F is 5 half-steps, or two and a half steps.

Figure 5
Figure 5 (6h.gif)

Exercise 1

Identify the intervals. If you have trouble keeping track of the notes, use a piano keyboard, chromatic scale, or the fingerings for your instrument to count half-steps.

Figure 6
Figure 6 (6c.gif)

Solution

Figure 7
Figure 7 (6g.gif)

Exercise 2

Fill in the second note of the interval.

Figure 8
Figure 8 (6j.gif)

Solution

Figure 9
Figure 9 (6k.gif)

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