ARCHIVE: Just a Second!

The first movement of Reger’s Suite Nr. 1 for Solo Viola has many intonation challenges. Since intonation is based on intervals, I have looked at how this movement is created from an interval perspective. You will find that the interval of a second– minor second/half-step (m2), major second/whole step (M2), and augmented (A2)– is the primary interval. There are 125 half-steps and 86 whole-steps. Related intervals also have the spacing (or feel) of seconds. There are 22 minor 6ths (m6) (which have a half-step feel), 56 major 6ths (M6) (which have a whole-step feel), and 11 diminished 7ths (d7) (which feel similar to M6). There are 7 tritones of augmented 4th (A4) or diminished 5th (d5) (both of which have a half-step feel). I did not count major 3rds (M3) or minor 3rds (m3), major 7ths (M7) or minor 7ths (m7), perfect 4ths (P4), or octaves (P8). There are far fewer of these intervals in this piece.

Intonation involves the direction of the pitch. The placement of a finger must have some reference to the harmonic or melodic direction of the music. Thirds, fourths, fifths, and octaves are generally harmonic intervals. Seconds, sixths, and sevenths are more melodically based. Understanding the difference helps intonation. An example showing the whole-steps and half-steps is below.