An octave is simply an interval created by the use of the factor 2 instead - e.g. if we started with our 100Hz note again, and we wanted to go up an octave, we would double the frequency, taking us to 200Hz. If we wanted to go down an octave, we'd halve it, taking us to 50Hz. Why is this factor of 2 so special?
Was the term “octave” coined after the development of early music theory? No. As shown below, it was already in use by the 11th century to denote the musical interval (although the principal name for the interval at that time seems still to have been diapason). What system was in use in medieval Europe when the term octave arose, and what did the term octave refer to? I'm a little hazy on ...
So who first used the word "octave" in the modern music-theoretical sense, and, more importantly, when? By "the word 'octave'" I mean any word in any language that relates to the number eight, though I expect that it will most likely be the Latin word octava or some variant thereof.
Click first note and Shift + Click last note of desired selection, rests at the end of the selection don't need to be in there because they won't be affected by the octave change Ctrl + Down arrow, This lowers the existing music by an octave, so you get your lower octave for free. But now you need back the upper octave Alt + 8, This adds an octave interval above the notes in the selection ...
8va is an abbreviation for "ottava" ("octave" in Italian) and is commonly used both for higher and lower octave shifts. The key difference is the placement of the dashed line: aligned to the top for "octave higher" and aligned to the bottom for "octave lower". 8vb is also sometimes used to indicate an octave lower.
It makes me wonder if the 12-semitone octave sounded good before the advent of "music as we know it" or if it is something of an acquired taste, in which case alternative breakdowns of the octave could be adapted to, like in the case of western vs indian vs east asian music.
@CarlWitthoft: Octave equivalence isn't the statement that notes separated by an octave sound the same. If I play 1000 Hz followed immediately by 2000 Hz, all humans can tell that there was a big change in pitch. Octave equivalence says that these two pitches are perceptually similar in a variety of ways. Depending on context, they can be easily confused with one another. Across all musical ...
In order to answer your questions completely, we must understand a little about how a flute works. Basically (leaving out a few keys for the moment) the modern flute plays the notes in the first octave of its range, from c' (middle C) to c'' (an octave higher), by successively opening fingerholes, effectively shortening the playing length of the tube, and sounding what's called the fundamental ...
