Major third

In classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 from Western culture

Western culture

Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...

, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval (music)#Number for more details), and the major third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two: the major third spans four semitones, the minor third three. For example, the interval from C to E is a major third, as the note E lies four semitones above C, and there are three staff positions from C to E. Diminished

Diminished third

In classical music from Western culture, a diminished third is the musical interval produced by narrowing a minor third by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from A to C is a minor third, three semitones wide, and both the intervals from A to C, and from A to C are diminished thirds,...

 and augmented third

Augmented third

In classical music from Western culture, an augmented third is an interval produced by widening a major third by a chromatic semitone. For instance, the interval from C to E is a major third, four semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to E, and from C to E are augmented thirds, spanning...

s span the same number of staff positions, but consist of a different number of semitones (two and five).

The major third may be derived from the harmonic series

Harmonic series (music)

Pitched musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling...

 as the interval between the fourth and fifth harmonics.
The major scale

Major scale

In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...

 is so named because of the presence of this interval between its tonic

Tonic (music)

In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...

 and mediant

Mediant

In music, the mediant is the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, being the note halfway between the tonic and the dominant. Similarly, the submediant is halfway between the tonic and subdominant...

 (1st and 3rd) scale degrees.
The major chord

Major chord

In music theory, a major chord is a chord having a root, a major third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a major triad...

 also takes its name from the presence of this interval built on the chord's root

Root (chord)

In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....

 (provided that the interval of a perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

 from the root is also present or implied).

A major third in just intonation

Just intonation

In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...

 corresponds to a pitch ratio of 5:4 (fifth harmonic in relation to the fourth) or 386.31 cents; in equal temperament

Equal temperament

An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...

, a major third is equal to four semitone

Semitone

A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....

s, a ratio of 2^1/3:1 (about 1.2599) or 400 cents, 13.69 cent

Cent (music)

The cent is a logarithmic unit of measure used for musical intervals. Twelve-tone equal temperament divides the octave into 12 semitones of 100 cents each...

s wider than the 5:4 ratio. The older concept of a ditone

Ditone

In music, a ditone is the interval 81:64, which is 407.82 cents. It is the major third in Pythagorean tuning. The ditone is evenly divisible by two major tones and is wider than a just major third by a syntonic comma...

 (two 9:8 major seconds) made a dissonantly wide major third with the ratio 81:64 .

In equal temperament three major thirds in a row are equal to an octave (for example, C to E, E to G/A, and G/A to C). This is sometimes called the "circle of thirds". In just intonation, however, three 5:4 major thirds are less than an octave. For example, three 5:4 major thirds from C is B (C to E to G to B). The difference between this just-tuned B and C, called a diesis

Diesis

In classical music from Western culture, a diesis is either an accidental , or a comma type of musical interval, usually defined as the difference between an octave and three justly tuned major thirds , equal to 128:125 or about 41.06 cents...

, is about 41 cents.

The major third is classed as an imperfect consonance

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

 and is considered one of the most consonant intervals after the unison

Unison

In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...

, octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

, perfect fifth

Perfect fifth

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...

, and perfect fourth

Perfect fourth

In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...

. In the common practice period

Common practice period

The common practice period, in the history of Western art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from c. 1600 to c. 1900.-General characteristics:...

, thirds were considered interesting and dynamic consonances along with their inverses the sixths, but in medieval times

Medieval music

Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...

 they were considered dissonances unusable in a stable final sonority.

A diminished fourth

Diminished fourth

In classical music from Western culture, a diminished fourth is an interval produced by narrowing a perfect fourth by a chromatic semitone. For example, the interval from C to F is a perfect fourth, five semitones wide, and both the intervals from C to F, and from C to F are diminished fourths,...

 is enharmonically equivalent to a major third (that is, it spans the same number of semitones). For example, B–D is a major third; but if the same pitches are spelled B and E, the interval is instead a diminished fourth. B–E occurs in the C harmonic minor scale. It is worth noting that in the standard tuning of a six string guitar, the interval between the 3rd and 2nd strings (G to B, respectively) is a major third, while the intervals between all other adjacent strings are a perfect fourth

Perfect fourth

In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...

.