Octave. What it is? Basic concepts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the initial sections of musical notation and solfeggio is the study of intervals. There are seven of them. At the moment, we are interested in the interval, called in music "octave". Its name comes from the Latin word "octo", which means "eight". Consider the basic concepts associated with this interval.

Octave: what is it?

In principle, the very meaning of the concept of an octave has several basic interpretations. This term is usually called the eighth degree of the scale, the interval, the range of the natural scale and registers of notes (sounds) on a musical instrument.

Consider an octave interval. What is it in terms of solfeggio? These are two sounds that sound together, differing in pitch by a factor of two. To give an example using a piano keyboard, these are, say, two identical note positions, one of which is higher register.

As an interval, an octave has three types: pure, increased and decreased. As a rule, mostly pure octave is used in music. It is referred to as "ch8".

Compositionoctaves and scale steps

How else is the concept of "octave" interpreted? What it is in a natural scale is easy to understand if you look at the main notes and the intervals that are included in it. As it is already clear, there are only eight notes in it, and the first and last notes are the same in name, but differ in pitch. The octave notes for the simplest basic C major scale are the following sequence: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do, or in the Latin notation - C, D, E, F, G, A, H, C.

Each sound in an octave (when viewed from the point of view of the sound range) is separated from the next one by one interval, called a semitone. Two semitones form a tone. As it is already easy to see, the entire octave consists entirely of twelve semitones (this is clearly visible on the piano, where there are white and black keys).

Now a few more words about the octave interval. What is it in understanding the interval for each specific scale? Everything is very simple. This is the alternation of notes and the intervals formed between them, taking into account the key signs and rules for constructing the main types of scales (major and minor).

Any major scale is an alternation of intervals in strict sequence, regardless of the signs in the key: tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone, tone, semitone.

Minor scales have their own rules. For a natural minor, such a sequence is constructed as follows: tone, semitone, tone, tone, semitone, tone, tone. These are, so to speak, basic sequences, sincenow, varieties of scales such as harmonic or melodic are not taken into account, not to mention various modes or exotic oriental scales, in which a quarter tone is taken as the basis for construction.

Octaves of voice and musical instruments

Now consider another application of what we call "octave" in music. What this is when applied to a musical instrument can be understood if you look, for example, at the piano. In fact, these are the same registers, spaced from each other at an equal distance up or down.

From a musical point of view, the classification of octaves is adopted precisely according to the piano keyboard. The main ones are: subcontroctave, counteroctave, small octave, large octave and then from the first to the fifth (nine in total). The first and last octaves are incomplete, since sounds below and above the specified range are practically not perceived by the human ear.

And more about the concept of "octave". What is it in relation to the human voice? It is clear, probably, that this is a certain range of sounds of different heights that a person can reproduce (sing).

How many octaves a person's voice supports depends only on the individual characteristics of the structure of the larynx and ligaments. According to statistics, for an ordinary person, this range is one and a half to two octaves.

Of course, if you develop vocal abilities, you can achieve a significant expansion of your capabilities. Today you can meet a lot of professional vocalists, whose range can reach four or fiveoctaves You don't have to go far. Take at least such a famous artist as King Diamond. His voice range is four and a half octaves.

It is no wonder that in his gloomy creations he easily jumps from a low sound to a high one, and even performs the parts of all the characters in his mini-operas (no matter who owns this part, a man, a woman, an old woman, a child or ghost in the form of a monster). What is most interesting, the recording does not use special corrective devices of the type that were used to dub the singer in the film "The Fifth Element". There the vocals are only half natural, the rest is a synthesized sound.

Using the octave in music

In musical terms, the octave as an interval is used quite often. Unlike a single clean, lone-sounding note, a second high or low sound adds fresh color. It is no coincidence that initially for guitarists, in addition to standard gadgets, special devices called octavers were developed.

They have gained immense popularity with many artists. For example, they are often used by such celebrities as Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and many others.