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four-line

[English]

Under the Helmholtz Octave Designation System, a name applied to the octave which extends from c4 in the second octave above the treble clef staff to b4 in the third octave above the treble clef staff. The notes are indicated by lowercase letters with the superscript "4" (c4, d4, e4, f4, g4, a4, and b4).
 
This octave can also be designated with four hash marks (e.g. c'''') or in the 7th octave with Scientific Pitch Notation (SPN) using uppercase letters with octave "7" (C7, D7, E7, F7, G7, A7, and B7). This is also known as American Standard Pitch Notation (ASPN) and was defined by the Acoustical Society of America. 
 
The MIDI Octave Designation System has two versions, one where note 1 (8.176 Hz) is octave "0" making the four-line octave the eighth octave (e.g. C8), and the other with note 1 (8.176 Hz) at octave "-1" making the four-line octave the sixth octave (e.g. C6).
 
The indications 8va and 15ma (shown below) can be used to represent the same pitches without as many ledger lines. The indication 15ma is rarely used today.
 
See more about octaves in the Appendix. 

Example


play four-line octave example




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Last Updated: 2016-05-25 13:54:52
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