[[Intervals]] whose size is an octave or smaller are known as **simple intervals** whereas intervals whose size is larger than an octave are known as **compound intervals**. As with simple intervals, we identify the size of compound intervals according to the number of lines and spaces they span (**Example 1**).
**Example 1.** Compound Intervals.
![[example intervals compound.png]]
Every compound interval consists of a corresponding simple interval plus one or more octaves. As shown in **Example 2**, a ninth consists of a second plus an octave, a tenth consists of a third plus an octave, and so on. In most cases, compound intervals are analyzed as if they were simple intervals, ignoring any additional octaves.
**Example 2.** Compound interval construction.
![[example intervals compound interval construction.png]]
> [!NOTE] Important!
> Note that the math might seem counterintuitive when adding an octave to a simple interval (e.g. 2 + 8 = 9).