Questions tagged [octave]
An octave or perfect octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency.
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Why do frequencies that follow a base two logarithmic relationship sound the “same”? [duplicate]
We know that frequencies that follow a base two logarithmic relationship sound as the same tone. This seems to be one of the fundamental principles that underlies music theory. For example, ...
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3answers
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Was the term “octave” coined after the development of early music theory?
I have some confusion as to the use and history of the word octave in the context of music and tuning systems.
The (western) tuning system comes from the Pythagorean division of the octave, based on ...
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2answers
168 views
How to change octaves on Yamaha E363
I have read the documentation but it doesn't explain how to transpose or change the octave setting or else it is not implementing my changes. Function > Transpose > Adjust -/+ keys but they LED ...
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2answers
130 views
What to call triads made up of first and third note on octaves and second note in middle of them?
We often find them in a classical musical.
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2answers
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How do you play far-away notes?
I've been learning a new song and it has a part where I need to play two notes an octave away.
I can just about reach it if I use my thumb and middle finger, but it's close and my middle finger keeps ...
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3answers
125 views
Different Piano Octaves
What comes after 15ma in Piano music? I have tried searching it up, but nothing helpful comes up.
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2answers
499 views
Chords available in a certain Key?
I am a total beginner here so please bear with me.
When you have a certain key, let's take C, we have
C D E F G A B C
Looking at the wheel of fifths, my available chords are
F C G major
D A E ...
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2answers
290 views
What are these octave like shapes used in popular indie rock?
I've got 2 octave(?) related questions. One about starting on the A string and one about starting on the E string.
Regarding the A string: there's a specific part of a Strokes song called "Reptilia". ...
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1answer
60 views
What is the best fingering for these 3 jumpy octave bars?
I'm not sure how to do the fingering for this? The first 4 notes per bar are especially challenging.
I've tried 5,5,1,51 and 5,1,5,51 but none of it feels really good :( I'm learning on my own so I ...
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3answers
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Question from Exercsies in Melody (Percy Goetschius)
I've been studying said book for learning melody writing and I find it to be very methodical. It is completely free to download for anyone interested (google).
I found a line I can't seem to ...
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1answer
115 views
Why were the frequencies for notes chosen?
I understand that the first note of each octave is twice the frequency of the first note from the octave before, but how are the frequencies for each note chosen subsequently after that. So far, Iāve ...
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4answers
566 views
Can people can tell exactly in which octave a note is played?
I have done some pitch recognition tests. No note was given, and between questions a very chatty piece of music was placed to erase your mind. I got a 4/20 and for the rest I was off up or down a ...
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2answers
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run two usb midi controllers on same time?
I have no experience with midi but i have two devices (alesis v49 and akai pro mpk25) in total 74 key so is it possible to combine these to two midi work as one device to cover most of piano key ?
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1answer
196 views
Broken octaves help
Lately Iāve been having a real problem with broken octaves. Iāve noticed this after playing rondo alla turca and gewitter (thunderstorm), an AMEB grade 4 exam piece from the series 16 book. Whenever I ...
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3answers
670 views
Is there a way to notate octaves for chords?
Say I wanted someone to play a C major triad in the 4th octave at one point in a song I've written, while I wanted them to play the same chord (a C major triad) in the 5th octave instead of the 4th at ...
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2answers
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How do I actually play higher octaves in flute? [duplicate]
Flute newbie here. I'm learning to read notes and play them on the flute (Western concert flute, closed buttons). I find many sources for fingerings of the notes in different octaves. Sometimes they ...
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1answer
293 views
Are these Bansuri Notes all on the Low Octave (to me they are on Low and Middle)
As a newbie I am trying to play these notes of O RE PIYA
http://sargamnote.blogspot.com/
To my ear, all the notes belong in the Low and Middle Octave of this beginner Bansuri Fingering Chart (as ...
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2answers
138 views
Should I raise this chord up an octave?
Okay, I asked somebody else for advice on my orchestration and he went a bit into lower interval limits. He did however give me advice on orchestration for the first chord. Here is what he gave me:
...
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Should I learn the Octave Etude to prepare for the Appasionata Sonata?
One of the hardest Beethoven sonatas is his Appasionata Sonata. There is one technique that I know it has in common with Chopin's Octave Etude. That is legato octaves. Difference has to do with ...
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4answers
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Does octave not matter when tuning?
Why does it not matter what octave you're tuning to? If you wind a string to two different octaves of the same note, surely it's going to have a big effect on the sound, no?
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4answers
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How many octaves can be heard?
How many octaves exist the the human range of hearing?
Will the same note through all the octaves harmonize?
What is the maximum number of distinct notes that can be played in a chord?
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2answers
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How to understand the keyboard of a piano (or any such instrument)? [closed]
I would like to ask about something like theoretical foundations or fundamentals of an 88 piano keyboard. My thinking is
a) there is a range of pitch a human can hear (lets assume that there is no ...
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3answers
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Super fast scales and octaves, How?
I looked at the sheet music for a piano transcription of The Four Seasons and I see in the third movement of Summer, 2 things that I don't know if I can do. It has partly to do with the Presto tempo ...
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7answers
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Speed of playing notes in different octaves
Is it common for pieces to have lower notes played slower? Do instruments with lower registers typically play slower?
I ask because notes in lower octaves are closer together in frequency. For ...
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1answer
331 views
Octaves don't sound like the same notes [duplicate]
I keep reading how two notes an octave apart sound like the same notes. I understand that theres a doubling of the frequency, so theres no real beats. But one sounds like a significantly higher tone, ...
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2answers
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How to alter piano music with left-hand octaves to require a smaller span?
I'm learning to play the piano and I'm loving it. I've just started learning to play some pieces with two hands, but I am unfortunately running into an issue with my left hand: I cannot spread my ...
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1answer
282 views
Octave in a triplet? How would I do that?
I am learning the left hand of Blumenlied by Gustav Lange and I notice something very tricky in the left hand. An octave starting a triplet. Here is how I have been playing that rhythm in the F major ...
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1answer
354 views
Tense and painful to pop 5th finger, why?
I started practicing the Lizst transcription of Beethoven's 5th symphony today and it is harder than it looks.
Some chords I just have to arppegiate because my hands aren't big enough to play it as ...
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4answers
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Musical systems with more than 12 notes
From what I remember of music theory, all music (at least Western music) boils down to scales that revolve around the 12 notes (circle of fourths/fifths). I know there are scales in different regions ...
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1answer
110 views
Is anyone familiar with the term “magladize?” (sp?)
One of my former music professors used the term "magladize" (sp?) when referring to music composed in octaves but I can't find any references to it. Can anyone verify what I'm talking about including ...
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6answers
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What is an octave?
It may be simple but I am not able to wrap my head around it. I am new to musical tongue. What exactly is an octave? Is it a range of frequencies? And is it specific to an instrument?
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4answers
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How do you refer to a note that is more than one octave above or below middle C?
I know you say the A above Middle C when refering to the A that is in the same Octave as Middle C in the Treble Staff, or you say the A below Middle C when referring to the A in the previous Octave on ...
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1answer
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Which octave learning can be postponed by beginner while eartraining from 7 octave computer software for piano?
If a beginner wants to ear train absolute pitch of piano from computer software which is showing 7 octaves, which octaves can he can omit at beginning ? 7th ,6th octave or 1st ,2nd octave? Or should ...
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7answers
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How come we squish everything into one octave?
If I play out the harmonic series on the piano, the notes are far apart over multiple octaves and I was wondering why we squish everything into one octave to create chords/scales?
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2answers
279 views
Overblown octaves on a tenor recorder
I have a brand new Aulos 511 tenor recorder and can achieve perfect overblown octaves without changing my fingering, just adjusting the position of my tongue and directing the stream of air. Why are ...
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3answers
352 views
What chord is made of the following notes: FāÆ/Gā3, B3, D4, F4?
I have a chord with the following notes:
FāÆ/Gā3, (G3,) B3, D4, F4
This chord sounds to me like a harmonically dense G dominant seventh. However, I only tentatively added the note G to this in hopes ...
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0answers
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Bell like tone on my octave mandolin
While playing chords on my octave manolin, I'm hearing a strange bell-like almost harmonic sound mixed in with the note.
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2answers
589 views
Playing octaves in piano
In La priĆØre d'une vierge, at the beginning and throughout, there are many octaves to be played in quick succession. The problem is, my hands are still growing, so therefore cannot reach to a certain ...
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2answers
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Octaves doubling on double bass in “Sometimes I'm happy” by Lester Young?
I am intrigued by the sound of what I assume to be a Double Bass played with a bow in "Sometimes I'm happy" by Lester Young, between minute 1 and minute 2.
If I am ...
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1answer
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Are there parallel octaves in L. Couperin's prelude, Suite in A minor?
Are there doublings or parallel octaves, especially with regard to the first several measures, in Louis Couperin's prelude "Ć l'imitation de Mr. Froberger", from the Suite in A minor?
I would also ...
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10answers
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Does an accidental apply to all octaves?
I've been playing French Horn for 20 years, and thought I had most basic concepts regarding accidentals understood. But the other day I came across the following image via Wikipedia, which had me ...
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2answers
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How octave is effective in vocal range?
My question's title seems so confusing so let me explain what I am exactly looking for.
Why some scales are different to sing in for some vocalists?
For example I have bass vocal range and my teacher ...
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2answers
933 views
Name for instruments that can only play one octave, vs one that can play many octaves?
Is there a word for instruments that are limited to only one octave, as opposed to instruments that can play multiple octaves? I think this is a matter of classifying instruments with a certain narrow ...
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11answers
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Why do octaves sound equivalent?
It is, I think, a perfectly clear observation that one note an octave above another note sounds as if it were the same in a certain sense; while they are by no means the same exact note, they are ...
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4answers
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Is doubling the root when converting guitar chords to piano wrong?
If you take guitar chords and put them into sheet music for piano, should you double the root (CEGC) or not (CEG)?
And if you do is it wrong because you'd have parallel octaves? I mean I know ...
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2answers
680 views
Are parallel octaves okay in other styles of music?
In a musical theatre piece is it wrong to have lots of parallel octaves in the voices?
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How to know which is a suitable octave?
Given a piano music sheet, is there any way to know which (suitable) octave should I start, or I just pick up any as long as it fits all notes?
Sorry if this is a dumb question! Thanks
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A (440 Hz) and A (880 Hz) are completely different sounds to me. Does this mean I'm tone deaf?
A recent episode of the podcast Surprisingly Awesome about music theory featured the line:
So just to be clear, pretty much every human, when they hear a 440 or an 880, itās going to sound like the ...
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3answers
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Is it possible to tune guitar down an octave?(or to f#?)
As the time goes, I see new bands using lower and lower tuning. For example if my memory serves me right, Torsof*ck uses octave down, band called Batushka uses f# tuning. How are they doing this? Don'...
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3answers
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Why does the octave number change between B and C?
I noticed that everywhere I read about music in scientific pitch notation, I see the notes in ascending pitch as in:
A2 B2 C3 D3 E3 F3 G3 A3 B3 C4
Instead of what I expected, which was
A2 B2 C2 D2 ...
