Theory Shmeary: Sixth and Thirds
What Are 6ths and Thirds?
“Sixth and Thirds ” is common musical term.
It is often confusing because it is referred to in different contexts.
Generally in musical terms when we talk about a Sixth or a Third we are referring to a musical interval.
Ukulele players often refer to thirds as a technique or an act of playing the instrument.
For Example: “playing up or down the neck using thirds”
You’ve probably heard the sound of a Sixth or a Third without even knowing it.
Sixths and Thirds are used throughout pop music. You’ve heard them in the intro to Margaritaville, by Jimmy Buffet and in the intro to the ukulele favorite Brown Eyed Girl by the Van Morrisson.
You’ve also may have heard it songs like Peace Train by Cat Stevens or I’m Yours by Jason Mraz.
What are intervals?
Intervals are the distance between the sound of two notes.
If we made a scale comprised of 8 notes and we put them all in a row starting on C and numbered them it would look like the diagram below