Octave facts for kids
An octave is a special distance between two musical notes that have the same letter name. Imagine you sing a scale like "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do." The first "do" and the last "do" are an octave apart! It's called an "octave" because there are eight notes in a scale. The word "octo" comes from Latin and means "eight."
For example, if you hear the first two notes of the song "Somewhere over the rainbow," those two notes are an octave apart.
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Why Octaves Sound Alike
Two notes that are an octave apart sound very similar. They almost sound like the same note, just higher or lower. There's a scientific reason for this! The higher note vibrates exactly twice as fast as the lower note.
Let's say someone plays Middle C on a piano. A small hammer inside the piano hits the strings for Middle C. These strings vibrate about 256 times every second. The C note an octave higher will vibrate 512 times a second. This exact doubling of vibrations is why octaves sound so connected.
Playing Octaves on Instruments
Playing octaves can be a bit tricky, especially for young musicians.
On the Piano
When learning the piano, young children might find it hard to stretch their hand wide enough to play an octave. This is because their hands are still small. Most adults can easily play an octave. They usually play one note with their thumb and the other with their little finger.
Advanced pianists often practice scales using octaves. This means they play all the notes in a scale, but each note is played as an octave.
On the Violin
Violinists can also play scales in octaves. This is very difficult! It involves playing two strings at the same time to create the octave sound. It takes a lot of practice and skill to do this well.
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