octave

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octave

octave [Lat.,=eighth], in music, the perfect interval between the 1st and 8th tones of the diatonic scale. The upper note of a perfect octave has a frequency of vibration twice that of the lower, and in modern Western notation the two have the same letter name. The octave is the first overtone (see harmonic ). The range of the male voice is roughly an octave below that of the female; men and women supposedly singing in unison actually sing in octaves.

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octave

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

octave. Interval of 8 notes, counting bottom and top notes. Notes an octave apart have same letter-names. Interval from, say, D to next D above is perfect octave; from D up to D♭ and from D up to D♯ are diminished and augmented octaves respectively. Also double octave, 2 octaves; at the octave, to be perf. octave higher than written; in octaves, to be perf. with each note doubled one or more octaves above or below.

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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "octave." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "octave." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 14, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-octave.html

MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "octave." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved November 14, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-octave.html

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