Namely, intervals where the notes’ frequencies have simple ratios — like 2:1 (an octave) or 3:2 (a fifth). But new research reveals that people’s actual preferred harmonies depend on the ...

The octave in Harold Arlen’s ‘Over the Rainbow’ Jumping forward to 1939, and Harold Arlen’s iconic ‘Over the Rainbow’, we find one of the most iconic uses of an octave jump in music. To borrow the ...

In Western music, there are a total of twelve notes per octave, named A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G and G#. The sharp notes, or ‘accidentals’, fall on the black keys, while the regular or ...

Our experience of musical intervals and the uncanny “sameness” of octaves is encoded in our neuroanatomy. The neuroscience of music is rich, complex and not without controversy. But some ...

A standard piano is made up of seven octaves, each containing the 12 equal intervals tuned, as is customary in Western music, in equal temperament. German piano manufacturer Sauter’s upright ‘Mikroton ...