2.4 Register Designation, The Octave, 8va, and 8vb

L E A R N I N G   O B J E C T I V E S

1. Understanding the use of register designations and labeling specific

pitches.

2. Understanding the term octave and its use.
3. Understanding

8va

and

8vb

as notation conventions.

By using the Grand Staff, we can locate specific pitches from low to high. However it
is necessary to assign more precise values to pitches according to their specific
range in this spectrum. For this task we employ

register designations

10

.

The Octave

To do this, we first separate the entire span of pitches into discrete segments
labeled

octaves

(Italian:

ottava

“eight”). In this context, an octave is a segment of

pitches spanning the distance from one pitch to its pitch-class counterpart above or
below. Further, it is customary to speak of pitches as residing in some particular
“octave.”

Figure 2.17

Octave

Using the

octave

11

as a range-specific designator, pitches can be precisely located

and identified by letter name as well as by register. Originally, a register
designation system evolved that employed upper- and lower-case letter names.
Multiple lower case letters (C, CC, CCC) denoted lower octaves while upper-case
letter names followed by one or more apostrophes denoted higher octaves. While
this system may still be encountered occasionally, it is gradually being abandoned
in favor of a more malleable system.

Register Designation

In the 1970’s, the Acoustical Society of America instituted a register designation
system based upon the layout of the piano keyboard. This system uses letter names

10. The labeling system used to

locate pitch based upon the
piano keyboard.

11. In this context, an eight-tone

species

, or sequence of pitches.

Chapter 2 The Elements of Pitch:Sound, Symbol, and Tone

72