Musical Aids to Memorize Intervals

Question

As the tutor for my school's music department, I spend a lot of time helping students drill intervals. However, I only have a handful of songs to recommend recognition.

P8 - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
P5 - Also Sprach Zarathustra
P4 - Here Comes the Bride
m7 - Somewhere (West Side Story)

And there's the extent of my help. Everything else I work as either arpeggios or scales. What are good pieces to help my students? Particularly Tritone and the Major and Minor 6ths.

Question for Mods: I like a lot of these answers -- do I have to pick a single answer? Thanks!

Answer 1

My music teacher taught us to memorise and recognise intervals using the "compare-it-to-a-familiar-song" method too.

It works really well and Somewhere Over The Rainbow was the exact song we used as well.

However, it's only effective if you're actually familiar with the tune - Also Sprach Zarathustra doesn't ring any bells with me.

So, as my teacher did, why not play the interval to the student and get them to name a tune they know which contains the same interval?

If it happens to be by some obscure X-Factor drop-out, so be it - they'll always remember it because they made the link. If you're too proscriptive about the tunes they'll not be able to identify and remember them.

Answer 2

Since you're already using West Side Story: the canonical mnemonic for the tritone is Maria. (In fact, I've never seen anybody use a different one.)

Answer 3

A great one to use for the rising major 6th is the "NBC" motif. Fun fact, NBC was originally a subsidiary of General Electric, and instead of "National Broadcasting Company", "General Electric Company" was used, or G-E-C for short. That initialism spells the notes that make up what is now known as the NBC motif!

Answer 4

M7: Bali Hai, from "South Pacific" -- actually it's an octave jump up followed immediately by a half-step down, but you hear that M7 clearly.

West Side Story is all about tritones. The signal whistle is G C F#. Jet Song: G G E C F#. Maria: C F# G. Cool: C F# G C First sung note of "Gee Officer Krupke" is an F# against C in the bass.

m2: Jaws theme of course!

Answer 5

Very nice question.... You brought back memories :) My music teacher did the exact same thing. I can't seem to recall all the songs she taught us though. I remember she used Singing in the rain for Octave though! :)

Check out this link it has many interesting examples many of which my teacher used as well (like jaws, happy birthday, Superman Theme)

http://www.musicalintervalstutor.info/listenpg.html

Widor's answer presents an interesting approach I have to say.

Answer 6

m6 - 'Bei Mir Bistu Shein' (or 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schön')
M6 - 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean'

(For most intervals I use(d) non-internationally known songs that I chose myself like Widor so nicely suggests.)

Answer 7

M3 (going down to tonic from major 3rd) = doorbell... ding dong. Don't laugh - I still use it. (Love the other examples!)

Answer 8

This site has an extensive list of songs corresponding to the intervals. It's too much to reproduce here but I will note that it's missing "O Canada" for the ascending minor third :P

Answer 9

The stacked thirds from the bridge of Twist and Shout by the Beatles. It gives you the whole layout of the scale in one meme.