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Information about the perfect octave interval

Name

This is the perfect octave interval.

Abbreviation

This interval is abbreviated with P8.

Practice the P8 interval

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Construct

How to construct the perfect octave interval?

To construct an interval correctly you must always use two steps.

1 • Count the amount of naturals used
2 • Count the semitone steps between the two notes

At first, and with easy intervals, this may seem unnecessary, but when advancing to more difficult intervals and musical keys they will become more mandatory.

The following example is for a minor second from C3. Outcome: C4

1 • The perfect octave spans 8 naturals.
C3  ↠  D3  ↠  E3  ↠  F3  ↠  G3  ↠  A3  ↠  B3  ↠  C4
2 • The perfect octave has 12 semitones between the notes.
C3  ↠  C3  ↠  D3  ↠  D3  ↠  E3  ↠  F3  ↠  F3  ↠  G3  ↠  G3  ↠  A3  ↠  A3  ↠  B3  ↠  C4

Cheatsheet

The perfect octave transposed from each note

C
C
C
C
C
C
D
D
D
D
D
D
E
E
E
E
E
E
F
F
F
F
F
F
G
G
G
G
G
G
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
B
B

Practice the perfect octave interval

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Chords

Which chords use the perfect octave interval?

Scales

Which scales use the perfect octave interval?

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