As we've seen before, the distance in pitch (called the interval) between any note and its nearest neighbour, which can be black or white, is called a semitone (half tone). For example, the interval between C and C sharp is a semitone, but so is the interval between E and F.
An interval of two semitones (e.g. A to B flat to F) is described as a tone.
We can also describe intervals with numbers. All we have to do is count how far the letter names of the notes are. For example, C and G are: C (1), D (2), E (3), F (4), G (5) letters apart. We say that C and G are a fifth apart. The staff belows shows all of the basic intervals, from smallest (unison, the word for an interval of 1) to largest (octave, the word for an interval of 8).