Intervals
Minor Third
3m · 3 semitones
Three semitones — the interval that makes a chord sound minor, and the backbone of the blues.
Also written m3 · 3m
Minor Third
3m · 3 semitones
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.
Read on: number and quality · inversion · compound intervals · consonance and dissonance
Every third
A third can take these qualities, one semitone apart; choose one to see the upper note move and hear the pair.
Hear it in music
Songs that open with Minor Third: the first two notes of each are the interval, which is how most players learn to recognise it.
Smoke on the WaterDeep Purple
The opening riff leaps a minor third.
GreensleevesTraditional
The first two notes rise a minor third.
O CanadaCalixa Lavallée
The opening interval is a descending minor third.
Chords built with it
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
Understanding Minor Third
Names and symbols
Minor Third is written m3, 3m: the letter is the quality, the number the size. Chord formulas on this site write the number first, as tonal does.
Seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths come in major and minor, a semitone apart, and can be widened to augmented or narrowed to diminished. Inverting one swaps the quality: a major third becomes a minor sixth, a minor second a major seventh.
How it sounds
A minor third spans 3 semitones: C – Eb. It is a consonance, but a darker one than the major third; stack it under a perfect fifth and you have a minor triad.
The ear reads the quality of a chord almost entirely from its third. Change nothing but that one note and a bright major triad becomes a minor one — which is why the third is the first thing to check when a voicing sounds wrong.
How composers use it
Minor thirds stacked on top of each other produce the diminished seventh chord, four notes evenly spaced, equally at home resolving in any of four directions. Flattened against a major context the same interval becomes the blue third, the note that makes blues and rock sound the way they do.
Its inversion is the Major Sixth, so the same two notes respaced give you the warm, open sound of a sixth rather than the close darkness of a third.
Learn this properly
Chapter 5: IntervalsCommon questions
- How many semitones is a Minor Third?
- A Minor Third spans 3 semitones: C – Eb. Count the semitones of any interval with the interval calculator.
- What makes a chord minor?
- The minor third between the root and the third. A minor triad is a minor third with a major third stacked above it; a major triad is the reverse.
- What is the inversion of a minor third?
- The Major Sixth. Minor intervals always invert to major ones, and the two sizes add to twelve semitones.
- How do I play Minor Third?
- On guitar the handiest shape is Next string, A 3 · D 1, read as string and fret; the instrument panel draws it from any starting note with the other shapes. On the piano count 3 semitones up from any key, black keys included. Play the notes together for the harmonic form, one after the other for the melodic form.