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Octave frequencies5/29/2023 ![]() ![]() But the gist is that like the octave (frequency ratio 2:1), small whole-number ratios of frequencies are often heard as "consonant." So the ratio 3:2 between frequencies sounds good (and, as noted, creates an interval called a perfect fifth), as well as the ratio 4:3 (the so-called perfect fourth). There are many longer answers here on this topic. ![]() So, I believe your question then becomes: why do we divide the octave into seven parts? The interval is five notes, but there are only four "steps" (of various sizes).Īnyhow, you need to get past that quirky numbering system first. So, C-D-E-F-G creates a fifth between C and G. For example, a musical "fifth" (frequency ratio 3:2) is the interval created by two notes that are four steps apart. This is just a historical convention for naming musical intervals, which sort of originated by counting both endpoints in an interval. Thus, the first interval created between a note and the next note above it is called a "second," even though it's only one interval. The word "octave" comes from eight, because a unison (two notes sounding at the same frequency) is considered to be a "prime" or kind of a "one" in the system, rather than zero. The question is why 8 notes similar to how there exists an answer for why the chromatic scale has 12 intervals per octave.įirst, let's be clear that the standard (major) musical scale divides the octave into seven parts, not eight. Note: The answers here did not answer my question. I am not a musician so if possibe, please define musical terms in terms of physics e.g. I do not understand where the octave (specifically, the number 8) fits into this picture. This was nicely explained in this video and has to do with the fact that the twelfth roots of two are very close to rational numbers p/q for small p and q. On a related note, I sort of understand why the chromatic scale divides the range between 220 Hz and 440 Hz into 12 equal parts. How do musical systems select frequencies between these limits in a suitable manner? However, why do we split an octave into eight notes in the first place? Consider two frequencies of 220 Hz and 440 Hz. Moreover, they sound "essentially the same" to our ear. I understand that when two frequencies have a ratio of 2^n:1 for any natural number n, they are said to be n octaves apart. ![]()
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