I am taking piano lessons and need to train my ear for intervals. I know “Here Comes the Bride” is a good way to pick out a fourth and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for a fifth. What are some tricks I can use for other intervals?
m2: I Left My Heart in San Francisco
M2: Happy Birthday
m3: To Dream the Impossible Dream
M3: Oh When the Saints Come Marching In
tritone: The Simpsons
M6: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
m7: Star Trek theme
Can’t come up with any obvious ones for minor 6th or major 7th offhand.
IIRC, The Simpsons is harmonised so there’s also a Major 7th in there.
For the minor sixth, ignore the inner note or Maria (West Side Story)
There’s a perfect fourth at the opening of Auld Lang Syne.
Alternatively:
Ascending
m2: Theme from Jaws
M2: (happy birthdy)
m3: Brahms’ Lullaby
M3: Do, a Deer (a female deer)
P4: ( Here comes the bride)
TT: (the Simpsons), or Maria (from West Side Story)
P5: (twinkle twinkle)
m6: The Entertainer (it’s the first big jump that’s repeated three times)
M6: N-B-C
m7: Somewhere (West Side Story)
M7: Bali High
P8: Some-where Over the Rainbow.
Descending:
M2: Three Blind Mice
m3: This Old Man
M3: Beethoven’s 5th
P4: O Come, All Ye Faith Full
TT: Jets Theme (West Side Story)
P5: Superman Theme
m6: Love Story
M6: Music of the Night
Scratch that, I’m wrong :smack:
I call the major 6th the “My Bonnie” interval.
Since the question is about music, I’ll move the thread to our arts forum, Cafe Society.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
Is the chant of “AIR-BALL” at basketball games supposed to almost always be a step down from F to D? Yes, it was in a Dave Barry column that I first read it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be true.
Thanks a LOT. Now I have that in my head on infinite repeat.
Here are the lyrics to Here Comes the Bride, as Wagner originally wrote it. Now you can sing along to that in your head on infinite repeat.
Thanks for the tips. I am still having trouble figuring out a shortcut to remember a major seventh.(I’m not familar with Bali High)
That can’t be the way Wagner originally wrote it because I can’t find the words “Here comes the bride” anywhere. 
I just got the popular version out of my head, and now your reply comes through my email… thanks a lot, dude. 
(I don’t think I can sing along to that in my head on infinite repeat, though… where’s Subwoofer when I need it? 
)
From the musical movie South Pacific… my sister and her friends loved that one for some reason. Here are the lyrics to that one.
For a Maj7, you may have to do a little two-step trick, if you don’t know Bali High.
You already know what a minor second and an octave sound like, right? Well, take your starting note, go down a minor second, then go up an octave. You’ve arrived a Maj7 above your starting point. (Play with this on a keyboard if the description isn’t clear.)
Learning all the intervals really well is so essential to being any kind of musician … you can’t spend too much time studying these.
(Alternately, take your starting note, go up an octave, and down a minor second. Distance between the first and third notes is the interval.)
Also, it’s Bali Ha’i I always did think it was a high school, though.
The tritone - opening guitar notes of "Purple Haze"
You are quite right. Its also the opening to my old high school anthem, not that helps the OP any…
After you’ve gathered your mnemonic devices, here’s an excellent utility for practicing them.