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Hints for Spelling Major and Minor Seconds |
| Look at a piano keyboard. If you remain on the white keys (no accidentals) there are only 2 pairs of notes with no black key in between them, b-c, and e-f. These are minor seconds, and all the others are major seconds. |
| Sharps move a note up, flats move it down. Always think in terms of moving towards or away from the other note. Moving the upper note up makes a larger interval, while moving the lower note up makes a smaller interval. Moving both notes in the same direction doesn't change the interval. |
| If you know your key signatures, any time the upper note is in the key of the lower note it is a major second. (i.e. C-D: There are no sharps or flats in the key of C major, so D is in the key of C major, so C-D is a major second.) |