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Octave
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==Explanation and definition== An octave is the [[interval (music)|interval]] between one musical [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] and another with double or half its [[audio frequency|frequency]]. For example, if one note has a frequency of 440 [[Hertz|Hz]], the note one octave above is at 880 Hz, and the note one octave below is at 220 Hz. The ratio of frequencies of two notes an octave apart is therefore 2:1. Further octaves of a note occur at <math>2^n</math> times the frequency of that note (where ''n'' is an integer), such as 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. and the reciprocal of that series. For example, 55 Hz and 440 Hz are one and two octaves away from 110 Hz because they are {{Frac||1|2}} (or <math>2^{-1}</math>) and 4 (or <math>2^{2}</math>) times the frequency, respectively. The number of octaves between two frequencies is given by the formula: <math>\text{Number of octaves} = \log_2\left(\frac{f_2}{f_1}\right)</math> <gallery> File:Middle_C,_or_262_hertz,_on_a_virtual_oscilloscope.png|[[Oscilloscope|Oscillogram]] of [[C (musical note)|middle C]] (261.62 Hz) (scale: 1 square is equal to 1 [[millisecond]]) File:C5_523_Hz_oscillogram.png|C<sub>5</sub>, an octave above middle C. The frequency is twice that of middle C (523.25 Hz). File:C3_131_Hz_oscillogram.png|C<sub>3</sub>, an octave below middle C. The frequency is half that of middle C (130.81 Hz). </gallery>
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