ottava
- noun
- /əˈtɑːvə/
- Specialized
:
octava
- The composer marked the melody with ottava to indicate it should be played an octave higher.
Examples
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In the score, the pianist noticed the ottava sign above the treble clef.
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Don't forget to play that part in ottava!
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The teacher explained how to interpret ottava when reading sheet music.
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The piece is in ottava.
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The composer marked the melody with ottava to indicate it should be played an octave higher.
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In the score, the pianist noticed the ottava sign that instructed him to play an octave lower.
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The teacher demonstrated how to use ottava to adjust the pitch while playing pieces on the piano.
Synonyms
16
4.8
A musical interval where the higher note vibrates twice as fast as the lower
The gap between two notes where the higher sounds like the same note at a higher pitch
Compounds
- Literature
A group of eight lines in a poem with rhyme pattern abababcc used in long poems
How Large
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word ottava comes from the Italian otto 'eight' and is like the English octave, which means eight notes apart. In music, ottava tells the player to play a passage an octave, or 'eight notes', higher or lower.