Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Notation and Reading Music

Ottava

Meaning in music, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In music, ottava means: A direction to play notes an octave away from their written pitch, usually shown by 8va or 8vb and a line covering the passage.

In Turkish: oktav kaydırma işareti

How it is used

Used to reduce ledger lines in very high or low passages. Check the sign and its position to see whether to play above or below the written notes.

Example sentences

  1. The ottava line tells the pianist to play this passage an octave higher.

    The written notes stay easy to read while the sounding register is higher.

  2. Remove the ottava marking after the final high note so the next phrase sounds normally.

    The editor limits the register change to the intended passage.

Common collocations

  • ottava marking
  • ottava line
  • ottava bassa
  • octaveThe interval between one note and the next note with the same name, higher or lower. The higher note vibrates exactly twice as fast as the lower one.
  • staffThe set of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which notes are written. A note's position on the staff shows its pitch.
  • scoreWritten music that shows all the parts of a piece together, one above the other. It also means the original music written for a film, series or game.

More terms: Notation and Reading Music

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