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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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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3answers
658 views
How many octaves exist?
How many octaves exist the the human range of hearing?
Will the same note through all the octaves harmonize?
What is the maximum 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
146 views
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
89 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
786 views
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 ...
6
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1answer
139 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
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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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0answers
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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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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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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
43 views
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
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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
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Change the octave during the song [closed]
Is it appropriate sing one part of the music in the singer's octave and when he/she goes to the next octave (usually opening chorus) keep singing on the old one? More generically, Can I sing every ...
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3answers
239 views
What chord is made of the following notes: F♯/G♭3, B3, D4, F4?
I have a chord with the following notes:
F♯/G♭3, (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
328 views
Playing octaves in piano
In La prière 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
358 views
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
59 views
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 "à l'imitation de Mr. Froberger", from the Suite in A minor?
I would also ...
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6answers
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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
763 views
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
471 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
432 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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2answers
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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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12answers
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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, it’s going to sound like the ...
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3answers
8k views
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 ...
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2answers
449 views
Determine whether to keep the original key when arranging a solo piece
Is there any best practice? Or perhaps how should you do it. To keep the original key or not, while playing a solo piece.
I have several pieces by Bach which I would like to perform and possibly also ...
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1answer
599 views
What does it mean when we say that this musical instrument is n octaves?
When we say that this Piano/Keyboard is 5 octaves,Does it mean that 5 complete octaves (CDEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB) or 4 complete octaves plus C in octave 5 (CDEFGAB CDEFGAB CDEFGAB ...
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4answers
199 views
Are 2 or more octaves perfect consonant?
According to my knowledge, an octave is considered as a perfect consonant. But are 2 or more octaves considered perfect consonant? For example, is C1 and C5 perfect consonant?
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5answers
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How do I hit lower notes on my flute?
I'm having a really hard time playing the lower notes on my flute. When they even come out, they sound really weak.
I can play high notes really well, so I usually adapt my sheet music to an octave ...
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2answers
253 views
Octave shift context
I'm learning this amazing piece of music from Nikolai Kapustin ... although I already play it well (kind of, at least most of it), I'm still unsure about some parts... so I decided I should ask ...
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4answers
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Standard notation for an octave
There are many common chord symbols and notation for musical ideas. If you want someone to play an A major chord, just an A denotes an A major chord. If you wanted someone to play an A minor chord, Am ...
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2answers
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Parallel octaves vs doubled octaves
I've read this Wikipedia article on parallel fifths, which also touched on parallel octaves. However, I'm having difficulty understanding the difference between doubled and parallel octaves. I think I ...
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5answers
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Technique for octaves on piano without pain?
So I'm a decently experienced pianist, but I never had formal training. And now I've got this absolutely amazing arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody, and it's killing me.
The first two parts were so ...
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3answers
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What is the best way to become super-accurate on the piano?
For an example of what I mean, look at Volodos or Marc-Andre Hamelin -- both well-known for their incredibly crisp and accurate technique.
The answer is NOT to play more. There are some pieces I'm ...
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4answers
276 views
What would be the a good tuning for an instrument with a limited amount of tones?
If you have an instrument with only a few tones(say 9), so less than to make a whole chromatic octave, what would be a good tuning that would make the instrument able to play an as large as possible ...
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4answers
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Fast octaves on the piano
I'm working on the piano accompaniment to Schubert's "Trockne Blumen" variations for flute and piano. Variation 2 is all sixteenth-note octaves in the left hand. I began by practicing very slowly ...
