MOVES notation doesn’t tell the whole story. The 8 leap in the James Bond theme is not the same as the 8 leap in the Love Story theme. In classical theory, the first is an augmented fifth and the second is a minor sixth. This is reflected in the score, when you count the number of lines and spaces that separate the notes spanning the interval. But even this doesn’t tell the whole story. To really get the flavour of those leaps, we need to know the scale we are leaping over, or what sub-intervals are stacking up to make that 8 leap.  Most musicians have no trouble recognizing the minor sixth in Love Story, consisting as it does of 1 3 1 2 1, part of the harmonic minor scale. But a novice will hesitate over the interval in the James Bond theme. Normally an augmented fifth would be filled 2 2 2 2 (part of the the melodic minor scale). But here John Barry immediately throws you with that -1 move, and goes on to fill the leap with 3 1 3 1 ( g – a# – b –  d – d#). This kind of analysis offers you tools to help you internalize new colours and add them to your improvising palette.

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