What is "octave"

Octave \Oc"tave\, a. Consisting of eight; eight.
--Dryden.

Octave \Oc"tave\, n. [F., fr. L. octava an eighth, fr. octavus eighth, fr. octo eight. See Eight, and cf. Octavo, Utas.]

1. The eighth day after a church festival, the festival day being included; also, the week following a church festival. ``The octaves of Easter.''
   --Jer. Taylor.

2. (Mus.)

   1. The eighth tone in the scale; the interval between one and eight of the scale, or any interval of equal length; an interval of five tones and two semitones.

   2. The whole diatonic scale itself.

      Note: The ratio of a musical tone to its octave above is 1:2 as regards the number of vibrations producing the tones.

3. (Poet.) The first two stanzas of a sonnet, consisting of four verses each; a stanza of eight lines.

   With mournful melody it continued this octave.
   --Sir P. Sidney.

   Double octave. (Mus.) See under Double.

   Octave flute (Mus.), a small flute, the tones of which range an octave higher than those of the German or ordinary flute; -- called also piccolo. See Piccolo.

4. A small cask of wine, the eighth part of a pipe.

c.1300, utaves (plural, via Anglo-French from popular Old French form oitieve, otaves), reformed in early 15c., from Medieval Latin octava, from Latin octava dies "eighth day," fem. of octavus "eighth," from octo (see eight). Originally "period of eight days after a festival," also "eighth day after a festival" (counting both days, by inclusive reckoning, thus if the festival was on a Sunday, the octaves would be the following Sunday). Verse sense of "stanza of eight lines" is from 1580s; musical sense of "note eight diatonic degrees above (or below) a given note" is first recorded 1650s, from Latin octava (pars) "eighth part." Formerly English eighth was used in this sense (mid-15c.)

a. (context obsolete English) Consisting of eight; eight in number. n. 1 (context music English) An interval of twelve semitones spanning eight degrees of the diatonic scale, representing a doubling or halving in pitch. 2 (context music English) The pitch an octave higher than a given pitch. 3 (context poetry English) A poetic stanza consisting of eight lines; usually used as one part of a sonnet. 4 (context fencing English) The eighth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword out straight at knee level. 5 (context Christianity English) The day that is one week after a feast day in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. 6 (context Christianity English) An eight day period beginning on a feast day in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. 7 A small cask of wine, one eighth of a pipe.

1. n. a feast day and the seven days following it

2. a musical interval of eight tones [syn: musical octave]

3. a rhythmic group of eight lines of verse

In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. It is defined by ANSI as the unit of frequency level when the base of the logarithm is two. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems".

The most important musical scales are typically written using eight notes, and the interval between the first and last notes is an octave. For example, the C Major scale is typically written C D E F G A B C, the initial and final Cs being an octave apart. Two notes separated by an octave have the same letter name and are of the same pitch class.

Three commonly cited examples of melodies featuring the perfect octave as their opening interval are " Singin' in the Rain", " Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and " Stranger on the Shore".

The interval between the first and second harmonics of the harmonic series is an octave.

The octave has occasionally been referred to as a diapason.

To emphasize that it is one of the perfect intervals (including unison, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth), the octave is designated P8. The octave above or below an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8a or 8va (= Italian all'ottava), 8va bassa (= Italian all'ottava bassa, sometimes also 8vb), or simply 8 for the octave in the direction indicated by placing this mark above or below the staff.

An octave, in music, is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency.

'Octave' may also refer to:

An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter (in English) or of hendecasyllables (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme for an octave is abba abba.

An octave is the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, which ends with a contrasting sestet. In traditional Italian sonnets the octave always ends with a conclusion of one idea, giving way to another idea in the sestet. Some English sonnets break that rule, often to striking effect. In Milton's Sonnet 16, the sestet begins early, halfway through the last line of the octave:

Patience's too-quick reply intrudes upon the integrity of the octave. Since "prevent" also means "anticipate," it is as if Patience is giving the answer before the question is asked.

Octave is the ninth album by The Moody Blues, released in 1978, and their first release after a substantial hiatus following the success of the best-selling Seventh Sojourn in 1972. The album proved to be the last for the group with keyboardist Mike Pinder, who departed during the album's sessions, and declined an offer to tour with the group. Pinder had just started a new family in California, and found that he was not getting on with his bandmates as he had before. Pinder would be replaced by former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz in time for their 1979 tour, beginning a new era in the band's history. Octave would also be the final studio album from the band produced by Tony Clarke.

Octave was considered a departure from previous Moody Blues albums, mainly because the group's use of lounge-style organs and synthesisers in place of a Mellotron or Chamberlain (Pinder's song "One Step Into the Light" referenced the Mellotron). Real strings were used on three songs: "Under Moonshine" and "I'm Your Man" (both written by Ray Thomas), as well as "Survival" (written by John Lodge).

Released after a considerable break, which saw The Moody Blues returning in an era of punk music and disco, Octave evidenced a reduced commercial impact for the band, but reached #6 in the United Kingdom and went platinum in the United States, where the album reached #13. The album produced the hit single " Steppin' in a Slide Zone," which hit #39 in the US, in addition to " Driftwood".

In November 2008, the album was remastered and released on CD, with five previously-unreleased, live, bonus tracks.

"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself. The word is derived from Latin octava (eighth), with dies (day) understood. In the second sense, the term is applied to the whole period of these eight days, during which certain major feasts came to be observed.

Octaves, not being successive, are quite distinct from eight-day weeks and simply refer to the return of the same day of a seven-day week in the inclusive counting system used in Latin (just as the ninth day was a return to the same day of a nundinal cycle, the eight-day week of the pre-Christian Roman calendar).

Octave (foaled April 13, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred racehorse. She was sired by Unbridled's Song, who in turn was a son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled out of the Dr. Carter mare Belle Nuit.

Her only win as a two-year-old came in the Adirondack Breeders' Cup Stakes. She placed second to Dreaming of Anna in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 2006. Then Octave placed second to Rags to Riches in the Kentucky Oaks the following spring and finished second in the Fair Grounds Oaks and the Ashland Stakes.

After five consecutive second places, Octave started winning. After she took the Mother Goose Stakes and the Coaching Club American Oaks, in August, 2007, trainer Todd Pletcher entered her in the final jewel in the Triple Tiara, the 1-mile Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Ridden by John Velazquez, Octave lost a stretch dual by Lady Joanne and Lear's Princess and finished third after a steward's inquiry upheld that Lady Joanne did not squeeze out Octave.

Octave's owners pledged v of her winnings from the Alabama Stakes to the Make-a-Wish Foundation for charity, according to co-owner Don Lucarelli.

On September 22, Octave ran in the $750,000 Grade II Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap at Philadelphia Park, where she placed second behind Bear Now, who wired the race. She then finished third in late October's Breeders' Cup Distaff, held in 2007 at Monmouth Park.

In electronics, an octave is a doubling or halving of a frequency. The term is derived from the Western musical scale (an octave is a doubling in frequency) and is therefore common in audio electronics. (The prefix octa-, denoting eight, refers to the eight notes of a diatonic scale.) Along with the decade, it is a unit used to describe frequency bands or frequency ratios.

A frequency ratio expressed in octaves is the base-2 logarithm ( binary logarithm) of the ratio:

An amplifier or filter may be stated to have a frequency response of ±6dB per octave over a particular frequency range, which signifies that the power gain changes by ±6 decibels (a factor of 4 in power), when the frequency changes by a factor of 2. This slope, or more precisely 10log(4) ≈ 6.0206 decibels per octave, corresponds to an amplitude gain proportional to frequency, which is equivalent to ±20dB per decade (factor of 10 amplitude gain change for a factor of 10 frequency change). This would be a first-order filter.