Whole Tones
& Half Tones
Inside each octave, notes are separated by two kinds of small intervals — the building blocks of every scale.
Intervals
Whole Tones & Half Tones
Inside each octave, notes are separated by two kinds of small intervals. These are the building blocks of every scale.
Half Tone (Semitone)
½ step
The smallest interval — one key to the very next key (including black keys).
Whole Tone
1 step
Two half tones — skip one key to reach the next. Equal to 2 semitones.
Half Tone — E to F (no black key between them)
Half Tone — B to C (no black key between them)
Whole Tone — C to D (black key C♯ between them)
Whole Tone — D to E (black key D♯ between them)
In a major scale the pattern is always: W – W – H – W – W – W – H. The natural half tones fall between E–F and B–C — the only white-key pairs with no black key between them.