How many semitones is a minor tenth?

A Minor Tenth spans 15 semitones: C – Eb. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.

Why do arrangers voice thirds as tenths?

Low thirds sound muddy because their overtones beat. Opening the same interval to a tenth keeps the harmonic quality and clears the register.

What is a compound interval?

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

How do I play Minor Tenth?

On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 11, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 15 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 Minor Tenth?

The inversion of Minor Tenth is the Major Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 15 semitones and 9 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.

Minor 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 – Eb
C#	C# – E
D	D – F
Eb	Eb – Gb
E	E – G
F	F – Ab
F#	F# – A
G	G – Bb
Ab	Ab – Cb
A	A – C
Bb	Bb – Db
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. Minor Tenth spans 10 letter names, which makes it a tenth, and 15 semitones, which makes it minor.

DLetter
ELetter
FLetter
GLetter
ALetter
BLetter
CLetter
DLetter
15 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

Minor 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 MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb
C Harmonic MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · Ab · B
C Melodic MinorC · D · Eb · F · G · A · B
C DorianC · D · Eb · F · G · A · Bb
C PhrygianC · Db · Eb · F · G · Ab · Bb
C LocrianC · Db · Eb · F · Gb · Ab · Bb
C Minor PentatonicC · Eb · F · G · Bb
C Minor BluesC · Eb · F · Gb · G · Bb
C Major BluesC · D · Eb · E · G · A
C ChromaticC · Db · D · Eb · E · F · Gb · G · Ab · A · Bb · B
C Half-Whole DiminishedC · Db · Eb · E · F# · G · A · Bb

In C major

D–F
E–G
A–C
B–D

Related intervals

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

Major Sixth6M · 9 semitones · C – A
Inversion: together they make an octave
Augmented Ninth9A · 15 semitones · C – D#
The same sound, spelled differently
Minor Third3m · 3 semitones · C – Eb
The simple form, an octave narrower
Major Ninth9M · 14 semitones · C – D
One size away
Major Tenth10M · 16 semitones · C – E
One size away

Open it in a tool

Understanding Minor Tenth

Names and symbols

Minor 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 Minor Tenth spans 15 semitones: C – Eb. It is an octave plus a minor 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 minor third opened out by an octave — still minor in quality, but far more spacious than the close interval.

How it is used

Pianists voice minor tenths in the left hand to state a chord's quality without muddying the low register, and arrangers use tenths between bass and melody as the widest reliably consonant frame.

Learn this properly

Chapter 5: Intervals

Common questions

How many semitones is a minor tenth?: A Minor Tenth spans 15 semitones: C – Eb. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
Why do arrangers voice thirds as tenths?: Low thirds sound muddy because their overtones beat. Opening the same interval to a tenth keeps the harmonic quality and clears the register.
What is a compound interval?: Any interval wider than an octave. A Minor Tenth is an octave plus a minor third, and it keeps the character of that simple interval in a more open, less congested form.
How do I play Minor Tenth?: On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, B 1 · E 11, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 15 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 Minor Tenth?: The inversion of Minor Tenth is the Major Sixth: put the lower note an octave higher and the distance that remains is the inversion. The two always add up to an octave, 15 semitones and 9 semitones, and swap their qualities between major and minor, or keep perfect as perfect.