How many semitones is an augmented tenth?

A Augmented Tenth spans 17 semitones: C – E#. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.

Is an augmented tenth the same as a perfect eleventh?

The same sound, a different spelling. The augmented tenth keeps its notes on letter names a third apart across the octave.

What is a compound interval?

Any interval wider than an octave. A Augmented Tenth is an octave plus an augmented third, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.

How do I play Augmented Tenth?

On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 13, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 17 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.

What is the inversion of Augmented Tenth?

The inversion of Augmented Tenth is the Diminished Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 17 semitones and 7 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.

Augmented Tenth Interval: How It Sounds, with Song Examples

Play it on your instrument

Loading the keyboard…

From

On the piano, from every note

From	Notes	Play it on your instrument
C	C – E#
C#	C# – E##
D	D – F##
Eb	Eb – G#
E	E – G##
F	F – A#
F#	F# – A##
G	G – B#
Ab	Ab – C#
A	A – C##
Bb	Bb – D#
B	B – D##

Tap a key or a fret to hear it.

Number and quality

An interval has two names. The number counts the letter names from the lower note to the upper one, and the quality counts the semitones inside that number. Augmented Tenth spans 10 letter names, which makes it a tenth, and 17 semitones, which makes it augmented.

DLetter
ELetter
FLetter
GLetter
ALetter
BLetter
CLetter
DLetter
17 semitones

Read on: number and quality · inversion · compound intervals · consonance and dissonance

Every tenth

A tenth can take these qualities, one semitone apart; choose one to see the upper note move and hear the pair.

Where it lives

Augmented Tenth is in every chord whose formula includes 10A from the root, in every scale that includes it from the tonic, and between these pairs of notes in a major key.

Related intervals

The intervals one step from Augmented Tenth: its inversion, the same sound spelled differently, its simple or compound form, and its nearest neighbours in size.

Diminished Sixth6d · 7 semitones · C – Abb
Inversion: together they make an octave
Perfect Eleventh11P · 17 semitones · C – F
The same sound, spelled differently
Augmented Third3A · 5 semitones · C – E#
The simple form, an octave narrower
Major Tenth10M · 16 semitones · C – E
One size away
Minor Tenth10m · 15 semitones · C – Eb
One size away

Open it in a tool

Understanding Augmented Tenth

Names and symbols

Augmented Tenth is written A10, 10A: the letter is the quality, the number the size. Chord formulas on this site write the number first, as tonal does.

A compound interval is a simple interval plus an octave, and the two names are used interchangeably in chord symbols: a 9th in a chord is the 2nd of the scale an octave up, an 11th the 4th, a 13th the 6th. The compound name says the note sits above the seventh.

How it sounds

A Augmented Tenth spans 17 semitones: C – E#. It is an octave plus an augmented third, and compound intervals keep the quality of the simple interval inside them while losing much of its edge — the extra octave gives the two notes room to stop interfering with each other.

It measures the same as a perfect eleventh, and exists for the same notational reasons as the augmented third.

How it is used

You will meet it in analysis rather than in practice.

Learn this properly

Chapter 5: Intervals

Common questions

How many semitones is an augmented tenth?: A Augmented Tenth spans 17 semitones: C – E#. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
Is an augmented tenth the same as a perfect eleventh?: The same sound, a different spelling. The augmented tenth keeps its notes on letter names a third apart across the octave.
What is a compound interval?: Any interval wider than an octave. A Augmented Tenth is an octave plus an augmented third, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.
How do I play Augmented Tenth?: On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 13, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 17 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.
What is the inversion of Augmented Tenth?: The inversion of Augmented Tenth is the Diminished Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 17 semitones and 7 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.