Unison Interval

unison overview

A unison is two notes on the same pitch, with the same letter name: no distance at all. It is the starting point of the interval system.

Lesson Steps

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Two voices on the same pitch don’t make a new sound so much as a stronger one. On the piano, a unison shows up as a repeated note in a melody, or as two lines meeting on the same key, which we play once. It matters most in reading: when the next note sits on the same line or space, nothing moves, and the hand stays where it is.

On the keyboard there are only two cases: a unison on a white key or on a black key.

The shapes of the unison on the piano

Each shape sits a little differently under the hand, so it is worth knowing them all. Under each keyboard, the same notes are on the staff: played together, then one after the other.

On a white key: C

Unisons on the white keys all look and feel like this one: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.

On a black key: D♭

Unisons on the black keys all look and feel like this one: D♭, E♭, G♭, A♭, and B♭.

Reading the unison on the staff

Both notes sit on the same line or the same space.

This is what makes intervals so useful for reading. Rather than naming every note from the clef, we read from one note to the next: once we know where we are, the shape on the staff tells us how far to move. Reading this way is relational rather than absolute, and it is much faster.

It works the same in the treble and bass clef, and at any height on the staff, so a reader who knows the look of a unison recognizes it everywhere.

The unison in the hand

A repeated note stays under one finger, or changes fingers on the same key, 3-2-1, when the repetitions are quick. Either way the hand doesn’t move; the only question is which finger plays it next.

Inverting the unison

Moving one note of a unison up an octave makes an octave; the two are inversions of each other.

Practice the unison

Play a note, then play it again with a different finger (3, then 2, then 1), keeping the hand still.
Read a melody with repeated notes and notice that the hand stays where it is for each repetition.
Find unisons in two-voice music: where two lines meet on one key, we play it once, and the line that arrives there carries on from it.

Avoid common mistakes with the unison

Moving when nothing moves. When the next note sits on the same line or space, the hand stays put. Reading the unison as a step is a common slip when reading fast.
Rushing repeated notes. Fast repetitions on one key need the key to rise a little each time; changing fingers helps.
Reading every note from the clef. Naming each note separately is slow. Reading the interval from the previous note is what lets the eye stay ahead of the hands.