An octave is the distance from one note to the next note with the same letter name. From one C up to the next C is an octave. The two notes sound alike, with one higher than the other. The word comes from the Latin for “eight,” since the top note is the eighth note of the scale.
Count it on the piano
Start on any C. Count the white keys up to the next C, and count the first C as number one.
| Count | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
Eight notes, and you are back on C. That is one octave.
Count the black keys too, and an octave holds twelve different keys: seven white and five black. The thirteenth key is the same note again, one octave up.
Use the piano keyboard chart if you have no piano.
Why the two notes sound alike
Sound is a vibration. A higher note vibrates faster. The note one octave up vibrates twice as fast.
The A that many orchestras tune to vibrates 440 times each second. The A one octave above it vibrates 880 times each second. The A one octave below vibrates 220 times.
Two notes that vibrate in this simple two-to-one way blend so well that they sound like one note in two sizes. That is why they share a letter name.
Octaves when people sing
When a parent and a small child sing the same song, they often sing an octave apart without planning it. A man’s voice sits about an octave below a woman’s or a child’s. Each sings the tune where it is comfortable, and it sounds like one tune.
A song that starts with an octave
The first two notes of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” leap up one octave. Sing “some-where,” and you have sung it.
Read intervals explained for kids.
Octaves on the page
Two notes an octave apart look different on the staff. If the lower note sits on a line, the upper note sits in a space, and the other way around.
The sign “8va” over a passage tells the player to play it one octave higher than written. Read ledger lines explained.
How many octaves?
| Instrument | Range |
|---|---|
| A piano | A little more than seven octaves |
| A violin | About four octaves |
| A flute | About three octaves |
Some instruments are an octave apart from each other. The piccolo plays an octave higher than the flute. The double bass sounds an octave lower than its written notes.
Read how many keys are on a piano, and why 88?
Octaves and hands
A grown pianist can play both notes of an octave with one hand, with the thumb on one and the little finger on the other. Many children cannot reach that far yet. Beginner pieces are written to fit a small hand, and the reach comes with growth.
Octaves and scales
A scale climbs from a note to the same note an octave higher. Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do again. The last “do” is one octave above the first.
Read major and minor scales explained and solfège explained.
Things to do together
Find every C. On a piano, C is the white key to the left of each group of two black keys. Play them all, from the bottom to the top.
Same or different? Play two notes an octave apart, and then two notes that are not. Ask which pair sounds like the same note.
Sing it. Sing a low “do.” Jump to the high “do.” Slide between them.
Octave echo. Sing a short tune low. Your child sings it back high.
Count the keys. Count all the keys from one C to the next, black and white. Check that you get thirteen.
Stretch. Put your thumb on C and see which note your little finger can reach. Measure your child’s reach the same way, and write the date beside it.
Print and play
Print the piano keyboard chart and color every C. For the notes on the staff, read treble clef and bass clef note names explained.
More from this guide
This article is part of Music theory for parents: what your child is learning and how to help.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.