Minor second
A minor second is 1 half steps, written m2. From C it reaches D♭. Hear it one note after the other, then together.
What it sounds like
The smallest step in Western music: one key to the very next one on the piano, one fret on the guitar. Played together the two notes grind against each other; played one after the other they sound like a creeping, tense approach.
It is the leading tone moving home, the "shark is coming" tension in film scores, and the half steps inside every major scale.
How to recognise a minor second by ear
Sing the major scale up to its 7th note and then the 8th: ti to do is a minor second. Down, it's the sound of a note sliding into its neighbour. If two notes sound almost like one out-of-tune note, it's a minor second.
Inside the C major scale, the minor seconds are E–F and B–C. Being rare in the scale is part of why it stands out.
Add an octave and a minor second becomes a minor ninth (13 half steps), the crunchy ♭9 of jazz dominant chords. Intervals bigger than an octave are called compound intervals; they keep the character of the smaller interval but sound more open.
No common chord has a minor second directly above its root, but it hides between other chord tones in Cmaj7.
A minor second from every note
The letter name moves up 1 letter (a "second") and the distance is always 1 half steps.
| From | Up a minor second | |
|---|---|---|
| C | D♭ | |
| D♭ | E𝄫 (sounds as D) | |
| D | E♭ | |
| E♭ | F♭ | |
| E | F | |
| F | G♭ | |
| F♯ | G | |
| G | A♭ | |
| A♭ | B𝄫 (sounds as A) | |
| A | B♭ | |
| B♭ | C♭ | |
| B | C |
Finding it on guitar
On one string, a minor second is 1 frets up. Across to the next higher string it's 4 frets back (the strings are a perfect fourth apart, except G to B, where you add one fret). The diagram starts from A on the low E string.
Other intervals
- major second
- minor third
- major third
- perfect fourth
- tritone
- perfect fifth
- minor sixth
- major sixth
- minor seventh
- major seventh
- octave
Minor second: questions
How many half steps is a minor second?
1. On the piano, count 1 keys up (black and white) from the starting note; on guitar, 1 frets up the same string.
What is a minor second above C?
D♭. Above G it is A♭, above D it is E♭.
Is a minor second consonant or dissonant?
Sharp dissonance. The smallest step in Western music: one key to the very next one on the piano, one fret on the guitar.
What is the inversion of a minor second?
A major seventh. Turn the interval upside down (put the lower note on top) and the two sizes always add up to 12 half steps: 1 + 11.
Spellings computed from letter names and half steps, and checked against both. Updated September 2026.