Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ottava]

For questions about 8va (all'ottava) and related notation.

The symbol: 8va [or just 8], is an abbreviation of all'ottava (alta), which is Italian for "at the octave (higher)".

When placed above a passage of notes spanned with a dashed line, this symbol indicates that these notes are to be played an octave higher than written. The end of the dashed line is sometimes accompanied by the more explicit: loco, meaning "at place".

Similarly, 8va b. (all'ottava bassa) placed below a passage of notes indicates these notes are to played an octave lower. The popular alternative 8vb is often used instead, but this is not good Italian.

15ma (quindicesima), 22ma (ventiduesima), etc. can theoretically be used for notes written respectively two or three octaves above/below notated, but these have limited practical value.

The related notation: col 8va (coll'ottava) is sometimes used in keyboard music. This indicates the written notes are to be played together with the notes an octave above.

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Is "16va" proper notation?

Is the notation "16va" or "16vb" ever used to mean to transpose what is written up or down two octaves? I cannot think of how else you would represent the highest and lowest notes on a piano without using excessive ledger lines, but I have never…
Mike
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Piano with two treble clefs and 8va on grand staff

How do you play the notes in the red square? On the upper staff, the lower chord is G but the note in the lower section is also G. Do you just ignore it?
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Why use 5 or more ledger lines below the bass clef instead of ottava bassa lines for piano sheet music?

One thing that has bothered me when listening to classical music with the sheet music also scrolling by is its persistent use of 5 or more ledger lines for low enough bass clef parts instead of ottava bassa lines. Examples (all pulled from public…
Dekkadeci
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How does 8va work on a staff with multiple voices?

I am writing a piano score and at one point I have a bar with multiple voices, one of which is quite high above the staff. I would like to write the top voice with 8va to make it more readable, but I'm not sure if it would apply to the lower voice…
Sam
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8 below note played as octave or singular note?

I'm working on the piano solo version of Rhapsody in Blue, and I'm unsure - when there is an 8 underneath this E, is it meant to be played as just the lower E, or as a full octave (as in the measure before)?
Theo
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Ledger Lines vs. 8va notation

As musicians sight reading music – are you very comfortable reading parts in ledger lines or is it more convenient having higher/lower parts notated within the staff with an 8va (or 8vb) symbol? For example: Of the two measures, which would be the…
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When to use 8va in musical notation?

I want to know after how many ledger lines should you start notating music with the 8va symbol. I have read that the flute often has music written on ledger lines. So up to how many ledger lines can a flute read? And what about the other…
Grace
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What is the meaning of an 8 followed by dotted lines?

In Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist - exercise 33, there are dotted lines with the numeral 8 above and below joining three measures together - what do they mean?
norlesh
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How do accidentals apply with octave signs?

In the measure below, does the natural sign still apply with the octave up sign? The first natural sign (first blue square) means that all following E5's in that measure will be natural, so the first E5 and the second E5 will be E-naturals. But…
John
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Very high notes on the treble clef

I was wondering, why on most music sheets the high notes on a treble clef are written above the upper lines and take up so much space on a page whereas it would be better to use 8va and 16va to notate them? Above that, you have to learn those notes…
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Why aren't octave clefs used in piano notation?

It's not uncommon to find piano music where the left hand plays primarily in octave 1, or the right hand in octave 6 (i.e. below the staff of a bass clef or above the staff of a treble clef). This can be notated with ledger lines or with ottava…
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What's this odd '+8vb' marking with a dashed line?

I have only been studying music for a couple of days now, and I was advised to look through music I like, so I can further my understanding. Whilst doing so, I have come across some markings that I am not familiar with at all, nor have I come across…
cmp
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Adding 8va line (both high or low) in Sibelius 7 doesn't play back

I'm working with Sibelius 7 and even though I'm adding 8va lines at some parts of my score, when playing it back I get the same sound I should be getting if I didn't have them. Any ideas why this could be happening?
ppareja
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Octave shift context

I'm learning this amazing piece of music from Nikolai Kapustin ... although I already play it well (kind of, at least most of it), I'm still unsure about some parts... so I decided I should ask someone. In the video, this part plays cca around 3:30…
Mirek
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Why don't all transposing instruments have transposing clefs?

Is there a reason for which some transposing instruments (say, horns in F, bass clarinets etc.) don't have transposing clefs? For some instruments it's not odd to have them, e.g. tenor voice always have G clef with 8va bassa mark, sometimes piccolo…
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