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An octave band is a frequency band that spans one octave (Play ⓘ).In this context an octave can be a factor of 2 [1] [full citation needed] or a factor of 10 0.301. [2] [full citation needed] [3] [full citation needed] An octave of 1200 cents in musical pitch (a logarithmic unit) corresponds to a frequency ratio of 2 / 1 ≈ 10 0.301.
An octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double or half its frequency. For example, if one note has a frequency of 440 Hz, the note one octave above is at 880 Hz, and the note one octave below is at 220 Hz. The ratio of frequencies of two notes an octave apart is therefore 2:1.
A jump from the lowest semitone to the highest semitone in one octave doubles the frequency (for example, the fifth A is 440 Hz and the sixth A is 880 Hz). The frequency of a pitch is derived by multiplying (ascending) or dividing (descending) the frequency of the previous pitch by the twelfth root of two (approximately 1.059463).
For example, C 4 is one note above B 3, and A 5 is one note above G 5. The octave number is tied to the alphabetic character used to describe the pitch, with the division between note letters ‘B’ and ‘C’, thus: "B 3" and all of its possible variants (B, B ♭, B, B ♯, B) would properly be designated as being in octave "3".
For example, the frequency one octave above 40 Hz is 80 Hz. The term is derived from the Western musical scale where an octave is a doubling in frequency. [note 1] Specification in terms of octaves is therefore common in audio electronics. Along with the decade, it is a unit used to describe frequency bands or frequency ratios. [1] [2]
Note: Information in the chart has been superseded by the information in File:United States Frequency Allocations Chart 2016 - The Radio Spectrum.pdf, which was downloaded from the US Department of Commerce web site and archived at archive.org.
In stretched tuning, two notes an octave apart, whose fundamental frequencies theoretically have an exact 2:1 ratio, are tuned slightly farther apart (a stretched octave). If the frequency ratios of octaves are greater than a factor of 2, the tuning is stretched; if smaller than a factor of 2, it is compressed." [3]
Octaves are given in scientific pitch notation, with Middle C written as "C 4". (The 'A' above Middle C would then be written as "A 4"; the next higher octave begins on "C 5"; the next lower octave on "C 3"; etc.) [4] Because stringed instruments are easily re-tuned, the concept of a "standard tuning" is somewhat flexible. Some instruments: