Major third Major third In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major third () is a third spanning four semitones. Along with the minor third, the major third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. It is qualified as "major" because it is the larger of the two: the major third spans four semitones, the minor third three. For example, the interval from C to E is a major third, as the note E lies four semitones above C, and there are three staff positions
Major thirds tuning This is never going to take the place of folk guitar, and it's not meant to. For difficult music, and for where we are going in free jazz and even the old be-bop jazz, this is a much easier way to play." Major-thirds tuning is closely related to minor-sixths tuning, which is the regular tuning that is based on the minor sixth, the interval of eight semitones. Either ascending by a major third or by descending by a minor sixth, one arrives at the same pitch class, the same note representing pitches in different octaves. Intervals paired like the pair