Guitar Interval Lessons
An interval is the distance between two notes, and on the guitar you can measure it in frets. Every chord, scale and melody is a set of intervals, which is why learning them changes how everything else looks: shapes stop being patterns to memorise and become formulas you can rebuild anywhere.
These lessons are for players who have been told to learn their intervals but never told what to do with them. You don't need any theory beyond the note names, and the fretboard lessons cover those if you need them.
The path below takes a practical route. It starts by counting intervals along a single string, narrows the list to the five worth learning first, then shows how shapes move across strings, including the one-fret shift at the G and B strings. The later steps train your ear on the same intervals and show you where they already sit inside the chords and scale positions you play.
By the end you'll be able to find a third, fifth or octave from any root, tell major from minor by ear and by shape, and see why a chord or scale sounds the way it does.
Start here
Guitar Intervals Explained: Interval Shapes on the FretboardEveryone says 'learn your intervals' but nobody explains what to actually do with them. Here's what intervals are, why they matter on guitar specifically, and how to start using them this week.Read the guide →Learning path
- Count intervals in frets
Learn intervals as fixed distances on one string: three frets for a minor third, four for a major third, seven for a perfect fifth.
- The five intervals to learn first
Concentrate on the minor third, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth and octave before the rest.
- Shapes across strings
Learn each shape on the next string up, with the extra fret you need wherever a shape crosses from the G string to the B string.
- Hear them
Train the same intervals by ear, singing each one before you play it.
- Find them in what you already play
Spot the intervals inside your chord shapes and the pentatonic box, so the theory becomes something you use.
- The remaining intervals
Add seconds, sixths and sevenths once the first five are reliable by sight and by ear.
All guides in this topic
16 DEC 2025
Guitar Intervals Explained: Interval Shapes on the FretboardEveryone says 'learn your intervals' but nobody explains what to actually do with them. Here's what intervals are, why they matter on guitar specifically, and how to start using them this week.
14 MAY 2026
Guitar Intervals: Seconds, Sixths and Sevenths ExplainedOnce the five core intervals are solid, the rest fill in fast. Here's how to find seconds, sixths and sevenths, mostly by counting back from the octave.
17 FEB 2026
Guitar Ear Training for Intermediate Players: The Practical MethodEar training isn't sight-singing exercises or an app you open once and forget. For guitarists, it's interval recognition — and you can train it directly on your instrument in ten minutes a day.
Questions about this topic
Should I learn intervals before chords and scales?
You don't need to stop playing chords and scales to learn intervals; learn them inside the shapes you already know. Start by finding the root, third and fifth in a chord you play every day, then the intervals in one pentatonic position. That gives the theory something to attach to.
Do I need ear training to learn intervals?
No. You can learn interval shapes by sight first and add the ear later. The two reinforce each other, though, and the guitar makes ear training easier than most instruments because each interval is a fixed fret distance on one string.
How do intervals help with soloing?
They let you aim for notes instead of running patterns. If you know where the third and fifth of the current chord sit relative to its root, you can land on them when the chord changes, which is what makes a solo sound connected to the harmony.