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Octave in Hertz [message #77125] Thu, 04 July 2013 08:39 Go to next message
Nisha is currently offline  Nisha
Messages: 45
Registered: June 2013
Baron
I read in an article that the term 'octave' can be used to measure the difference in Hertz between two sounds. An octave is the difference between one sound and another that has double (or half) the frequency. E.g. 2500Hz and 5000Hz differs one octave. The bands in some nifty car equalizers differ one third of an octave.
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #77129 is a reply to message #77125] Thu, 04 July 2013 11:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently online  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18670
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

That's right. An octave is a span of 2x frequency. A decade is a span of 10x frequency.

Re: Octave in Hertz [message #77130 is a reply to message #77125] Thu, 04 July 2013 11:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
gofar99 is currently offline  gofar99
Messages: 1895
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Correct. An octave is twice or half of a given frequency. Even better gear goes to 1/6 and 1/10 octave.

Good Listening
Bruce
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #77199 is a reply to message #77125] Tue, 16 July 2013 12:11 Go to previous messageGo to next message
audioaudio90 is currently offline  audioaudio90
Messages: 623
Registered: October 2010
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I knew octaves were twice (or half) the frequency, but I was not aware of decades. I'm surprised that term never came up in school. Of course, it's possible that it did and I wasn't paying attention that day. Razz
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #77541 is a reply to message #77125] Tue, 20 August 2013 17:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Kingfish is currently offline  Kingfish
Messages: 548
Registered: November 2012
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I vaguely remember the term decade in my music composition class in junior high school. I feel fortunate that they really went in depth with all aspects of music. There's a lot to it most people don't know.
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #79042 is a reply to message #77125] Thu, 23 January 2014 16:35 Go to previous messageGo to next message
RustyC is currently offline  RustyC
Messages: 44
Registered: July 2013
Location: AL
Baron
I just love it when music and science collide. I've always wondered how those early piano makers, who surely couldn't measure frequency with any accuracy in the early 1700's, managed to get those octaves to match the frequency numbers like that. But using human ears, they figured out that certain notes sound alike and always resonate.
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #80546 is a reply to message #79042] Sat, 20 September 2014 07:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Nymeria is currently offline  Nymeria
Messages: 508
Registered: April 2011
Illuminati (1st Degree)
RustyC wrote on Thu, 23 January 2014 16:35
I just love it when music and science collide. I've always wondered how those early piano makers, who surely couldn't measure frequency with any accuracy in the early 1700's, managed to get those octaves to match the frequency numbers like that. But using human ears, they figured out that certain notes sound alike and always resonate.


Music IS science, and math, and art all at once. It is a beautiful thing. As for the piano makers, clearly they have better ears than I do.
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #82401 is a reply to message #77125] Mon, 18 April 2016 05:50 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Yurimi is currently offline  Yurimi
Messages: 66
Registered: March 2016
Viscount
Thank you for the interesting information! It's strange that I've never heard of this despite studying music for a while back then. I thought octave is a strictly musical term, only for notes with similar sound after certain period. It is indeed nice to see both music relates to many other aspects of life!
Re: Octave in Hertz [message #82505 is a reply to message #77125] Tue, 26 April 2016 03:30 Go to previous message
dreamer13 is currently offline  dreamer13
Messages: 35
Registered: April 2016
Baron
Such an interesting post. It reminds me that there are also variations to octaves. In music theory, 13 semitones higher is called an augmented octave, while 11 semitones higher is a diminished octave. The double-or-half-frequency theory becomes slightly different, though.
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