Feel the tritone and altered intervals

Aural and visual recognition of intervals.

1. Step 1Listen to the interval and notice whether it sounds stable (perfect or major/minor) or tense and unstable.
2. Step 2If it sounds suspended and eager to resolve, suspect the tritone (augmented fourth or diminished fifth, six semitones).
3. Step 3Hint: mentally compare it with the perfect fifth C–G; the augmented is one semitone wider and the diminished one semitone narrower.
4. Step 4Confirm your answer and repeat until you recognise the tension of the tritone with confidence.