Perfect Fourth
An interval spanning five semitones, historically treated as both consonant and dissonant depending on context.
Category
intervals
Pronunciation
/ˈpɜːfɪkt fɔːθ/
Origin
Latin (quartus, fourth)
Length
205 words · 2 min read
About Perfect Fourth
The perfect fourth is the distance from C to F, or from G to C above, and it holds a unique position in Western harmony. In medieval music it was classified as a perfect consonance alongside the fifth and octave, but from the Renaissance onwards it was treated as a dissonance when appearing above the bass note — a rule that still applies in species counterpoint.
More intervals terms
Whole tone
View all intervalsterms →An interval spanning two semitones, equivalent to a major second.
Perfect FifthAn interval of seven semitones
Minor ThirdAn interval spanning three semitones, often described as having a dark, melancholic, or tender quality.
Major SecondAn interval spanning two semitones, equivalent to a whole tone or whole step.
ThirdAn interval spanning three diatonic scale degrees
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v1 · 10/04/2026Browse all terms →