Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman, and in this lesson we're going to learn all about minor and major thirds.

What they sound like, what they look like, and how composers use them in music.

You can think of minor and major like two different flavors: chocolate and vanilla.

Each can be enjoyed in its own way, and each has specific uses.

Let's come to the piano to explore some of the many ways to use major and minor thirds.

So what is a major third?

A major third is the distance from DO to MI.

Or we could say from the first note of any major scale to the third note of that same

scale. So here in C major going from DO to MI, or C to E would be a major third.

D to F-sharp is also a major third because those are the first and third notes of a D major scale.

DO to MI will always be a major third.

We can also find a major third between A-flat and C because that's also DO RE MI in the key of A-flat major.

Another way to think about a major third is it's the distance of two

whole steps, or two major seconds, which we recently learned about. Here's one major second from DO to RE,

and then one more major second, or whole step, brings us up to a major third.

So it's the distance of two whole steps, or we could even think of it as the distance of four half steps.

One, two, three, four half steps is another way we can get to a major third.

So whether we think of it as four half steps or two whole steps, it will always be this distance apart. DO to MI.

So let's practice finding major thirds.

Can you find a major third above E?

Remember use the distance of two whole steps or four half steps.

Point to a major third above E.

If you're pointing right here, you're correct.

The way you can solve that is by going up by whole steps DO RE MI.

DO to MI will always make a major third. The distance of one, two, three, four half steps,

or two whole steps is another way to make a major third.

Can you point to a major third above this F-sharp?

If you're pointing right here, you're correct.

Remember, two whole steps or major seconds,

or four half steps or minor seconds. One, two, three, four, will give us a major third.

Now can you find a major third below this D?

So now we're going down.

If you're pointing right here, you're correct.

We go one major second down,

and then another major second down, or four half steps down. One, two, three, four. Shows us that this is a major third from B-flat to D.

Now as I mentioned, we have two flavors of thirds that we're learning about today. We have the major third,

but we also can have a minor third.

Which would be the distance from DO to ME. Remember, MI if we lower it a half step becomes ME.

DO RE ME FA SO

So a C minor scale from the first to the third note forms what we call a minor third in music.

It's also the distance of a whole step plus a half step,

which we've learned recently. We can also call a major second plus a minor second.

Or we could think of it as the distance of three half steps or minor seconds. One, two, three.

So in the key of D minor. We also would have a minor third between D and F.

Why is that? Well we can see this is a whole step plus a half step.

Or it's the distance of three half steps. One, two, three, from D to F is a minor third.

So remember, major third above D would be F-sharp.

Minor third would be D to F. You can hear the difference in sound between those two. Listen to a major third.

DO MI, or minor third,

DO ME

Let's practice finding some minor thirds.

Can you find a minor third above this F?

Remember, go a whole step plus a half step.

That would get us right here.

DO RE ME

F to A-flat is a minor third.

Can you find a minor third above this B? Point to it.

If you're pointing right here, you're correct.

From B we go up a whole step plus a half step.

B to D is a minor third.

Can you find a minor third below this B-flat.

If you're pointing right here, you're correct. Remember, we go down a whole step plus a half step. Or up a whole step plus a half step.

Either direction we go, whole step plus half step away makes a minor third. G to B-flat.

Now let's take a look at measure two of "Danny Boy," which we recently learned and looking in

the music here can you find the minor third?

It's right here between the E and the C-sharp ...