How many semitones is a major tenth?

A Major Tenth spans 16 semitones: C – E. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.

What is a major tenth on piano?

A root and the major third an octave above it, often played as a single left-hand span in stride and ragtime.

What is a compound interval?

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

How do I play Major Tenth?

On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 12, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 16 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 Major Tenth?

The inversion of Major Tenth is the Minor Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 16 semitones and 8 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.

Major 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. Major Tenth spans 10 letter names, which makes it a tenth, and 16 semitones, which makes it major.

DLetter
ELetter
FLetter
GLetter
ALetter
BLetter
CLetter
DLetter
16 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

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

Scales that contain it

C MajorC · D · E · F · G · A · B
C LydianC · D · E · F# · G · A · B
C MixolydianC · D · E · F · G · A · Bb
C Major PentatonicC · D · E · G · A
C Major BluesC · D · Eb · E · G · A
C Whole ToneC · D · E · F# · G# · A#
C ChromaticC · Db · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · Ab · A · Bb · B
C AlteredC · Db · D# · E · F# · Ab · Bb
C Phrygian DominantC · Db · E · F · G · Ab · Bb
C Harmonic MajorC · D · E · F · G · Ab · B
C Lydian DominantC · D · E · F# · G · A · Bb
C Half-Whole DiminishedC · Db · Eb · E · F# · G · A · Bb

In C major

C–E
F–A
G–B

Related intervals

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

Minor Sixth6m · 8 semitones · C – Ab
Inversion: together they make an octave
Diminished Eleventh11d · 16 semitones · C – Fb
The same sound, spelled differently
Major Third3M · 4 semitones · C – E
The simple form, an octave narrower
Minor Tenth10m · 15 semitones · C – Eb
One size away
Perfect Eleventh11P · 17 semitones · C – F
One size away

Open it in a tool

Understanding Major Tenth

Names and symbols

Major Tenth is written M10, 10M: 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 Major Tenth spans 16 semitones: C – E. It is an octave plus a major 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.

The major third opened out by an octave — bright, wide and completely stable.

How it is used

It is the classic stride-piano left-hand span and the standard outer frame for an open major voicing.

Learn this properly

Chapter 5: Intervals

Common questions

How many semitones is a major tenth?: A Major Tenth spans 16 semitones: C – E. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
What is a major tenth on piano?: A root and the major third an octave above it, often played as a single left-hand span in stride and ragtime.
What is a compound interval?: Any interval wider than an octave. A Major Tenth is an octave plus a major third, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.
How do I play Major Tenth?: On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 12, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 16 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 Major Tenth?: The inversion of Major Tenth is the Minor Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 16 semitones and 8 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.