Intervals are the spaces between notes. Most guitarists play scales (small intervals — steps). Great players use intervals deliberately — wide leaps for drama, specific intervals for harmonic colour. Landau uses intervals expressively; Henderson uses them systematically. Master both approaches and your playing becomes 3-dimensional.
The distance between two notes, measured in steps. The bigger the interval, the more dramatic the leap. Most guitarists rely on scales (intervals of 1-2 frets). Real musicality lives in the LARGER intervals — 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, octaves, and 10ths.
The mistake most players make is staying in the scale box. Wider intervals sound more melodic, more vocal, more interesting. The exercises below train you to leap deliberately — and to land on the right note when you do.
Wide leaps for emotional drama, then stepwise resolution. Landau uses intervals as a phrasing tool — leap up to create tension, walk down to release it. Octaves and 10ths are his signature wide intervals.
The intervals are always SERVING the melody. He's never showing off "look at this 10th!" — the leap is there because the music needs it.
Specific intervals as a vocabulary system. Henderson studied jazz at Berklee. He uses intervals like vocabulary — 4ths for the fusion sound, tritones for outside-inside resolution, 5ths for power.
Intervals are TONAL TOOLS. Each interval has a job. He picks the right interval for the harmonic situation.
e|------------------------------| B|------------------------------| G|--------------9-7-------------| D|-----9-----------------9-7----| A|-----------------------------9| E|--7---------------------------| B → B E D B A F# (octave leap) (stepwise descent) 1 beat each note, slowly Leap from B (low E fret 7) UP to B (D string fret 9) Then walk down through scale
One wide LEAP creates "where am I going?" tension. The stepwise descent answers it — gentle resolution down to F# (the 5 of Bm). The octave leap is dramatic; the descent is calming. Drama → release in one phrase.
Start at 60 BPM, one note per beat. The LEAP is the hardest part — your fretting hand must jump cleanly from low E fret 7 to D-string fret 9 in time. Practice JUST the leap first (10 reps). Then add the descent. Then string the whole phrase together.
e|------------------------------| B|--7-----10-----12-----14------| G|------------------------------| D|--7-----9------12-----14------| A|------------------------------| E|------------------------------| A+F# B+A D+B E+C# (6th) (6th) (6th) (6th) Play both notes TOGETHER as a double-stop, or arpeggiate (low first, then high quickly)
Pairs of notes on the D and B strings (skipping the G string in between). Each pair is a 6th apart — the sweetest interval in music. The 6ths walk UP the scale, creating a melodic line built from harmonized intervals.
Two ways: (1) Strum both notes simultaneously (double stop). (2) Pluck them quickly one after the other (arpeggiate). Practice BOTH. Walk the 4 pairs up at 70 BPM, then back down. After a week your hand will know "where 6ths live" automatically.
e|--------7-------------------| B|----------------7-----------| G|--7-------------------------| D|--------7-------------------| A|----------------7----9------| E|--7-------------------------| B+D E+F# A+B then (10) (10) (10) C#+F# (Bm scale) Skip one string between the lower and upper notes.
A 10th is a 3rd plus an octave. You play the ROOT on a low string, then skip ONE string in between, then play the 3rd on a higher string. The wide spread creates a piano-like spacious sound.
Critical: mute the middle string with your fretting hand (the index finger should LIGHTLY touch the skipped string to silence it). If you don't mute, the open or unintended string ringing will ruin the 10th. Practice the muting separately first.
e|------------------------------| B|----------------------10------| G|----------------9-------------| D|----------7-------------------| A|------7-----------------------| E|--7---------------------------| B+E E+A A+D D+F# E+A (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) Walk 4ths up the scale. Notes from Bm pentatonic.
Stacked 4ths create "quartal harmony" — a sound made famous by McCoy Tyner on piano and used by every modern fusion player. The 4th has an OPEN, suspended quality — not a clear major or minor — which makes it sound modern and ambiguous.
Two-note 4ths: play the lower note on one string, the higher note on the next string up. Most of these are barred with one finger (because perfect 4ths are 5 frets apart but adjacent strings are tuned a 4th apart — except the B/G interval which breaks the pattern). Practice ascending and descending.
e|------------------------------| B|--12--6--7--------------------| G|----------------10--11--------| D|------------------------------| B (root) F (tritone) F# (resolution) F (G fret 10) F# (G fret 11) Pattern: Play root, then tritone (outside), then resolve UP a half step.
The tritone is the b5 — 6 semitones from the root. In Bm, that's F natural. It sounds "wrong" — but if you resolve it UP a half step to F# (the 5 of Bm), it sounds GREAT. The "wrongness" makes the resolution feel earned.
Critical: the tritone must be on a WEAK beat (& of 1, & of 2, etc.) and the resolution must be on a STRONG beat (1, 2, 3, 4). If the tritone lands on a strong beat it just sounds wrong. The placement is what makes it work musically.
e|------------------------------| B|---------------------17-------| G|----------------14------------| D|----------12------------------| A|------9-----------------------| E|--7---------------------------| B+F# F#+C# D+A A+E (5) (5) (5) (5) Each 5th: play together as double stop, or arpeggiate.
5ths are the most STABLE interval. They sound powerful and definite. A 5th has no major/minor quality — it's neither happy nor sad — just strong. The classic "power chord" is exactly this — root + 5th, no 3rd.
Play each 5th twice: once as a double stop (both notes simultaneously), once arpeggiated (low note then high note). The arpeggio version becomes a melodic line; the double stop becomes a power-chord stab. Both are useful vocabulary.
Once you've drilled each interval separately, the magic is using them together. Here's a phrase that combines four different intervals:
e|---------------------14-------|
B|------------7---------12------|
G|-------7----------------------|
D|-------9----------------------|
A|--7---------------------------|
E|------------------------------|
Step 1 (5th): B + F# (A string 7 + low E 7 wait...)
Actually: A fret 7 (E) + D fret 9 (B) = 5th
Step 2 (4th): Move D fret 7 (A) + G fret 7 (D) = 4th
Step 3 (6th): G fret 12 + B fret 12 = 6th
Step 4 (10th): Octave leap to the high e fret 14
One phrase, four different intervals.
The variety is the music.
When you can fluidly switch between intervals, your playing has VARIETY — each phrase feels different. Use a 5th for power, a 4th for openness, a 6th for sweetness, a 10th for drama. One interval = one tool. Multiple intervals = a toolbox.
20 minutes. Master the LEAP first (10 reps just the jump). Then add the descent. End of session: play the full phrase 10 times in a row clean.
20 minutes. Walk the 4 pairs up and down. Try BOTH double-stop and arpeggio versions. By end of day, your hand should know where 6ths live without thinking.
25 minutes. The muting is the hard part. Practice JUST the muting first — play a 10th, listen for the middle string ringing. If it rings, your finger isn't touching it properly.
20 minutes. The fusion sound. Walk up the scale playing only 4ths. Sounds strange at first — that's correct. Modern, open, ambiguous.
25 minutes. The placement matters more than the notes. Tritone on weak beat, resolution on strong beat. Get the rhythm right and the harmony works automatically.
20 minutes. The strongest interval. Walk 5ths up the neck — feel how solid they sound. Compare to 4ths from day 4 — totally different mood.
Improvise over the melody_practice.mid or bm_drone_60bpm.mid backing. Use ONE interval per phrase, cycling through all six. By end of day, intervals should feel like vocabulary — tools to reach for, not exercises to drill.
Scales are like drawing in pencil — one tool, many lines. Intervals are like painting — different colours for different moods. A 4th is one colour. A 6th is another. A 10th is another still.
Landau teaches you WHEN to use intervals (for drama, for vocal phrasing, for emotional impact). Henderson teaches you WHICH intervals to use (4ths for openness, 5ths for power, tritones for tension). Together, that's a complete interval vocabulary that will serve you for the rest of your playing life.