lottava

Lottava is the Italian term for the musical octave. In music theory, the octave is the interval between two pitches that lie eight diatonic steps apart and have a frequency ratio close to 2:1. In Italian, the standard word for this interval is ottava, and lottava appears as a variant or in explanatory contexts referring to the same concept.

Notation and practice: To indicate that notes should be sounded one octave higher than written, composers use the symbol 8va placed above the staff, often accompanied by a dashed line to show how long the transposition lasts. The Italian equivalent is ottava alta. Conversely, to play an octave lower, the notation 8vb is used, with the corresponding Italian term ottava bassa. A cancellation command such as loco returns to ordinary pitch within a passage.

Usage and implications: Ottava marks help reduce ledger lines and improve readability, especially in piano music, orchestral parts, and vocal scores. They are also used when a passage needs to be written in a comfortable range for the performer while sounding at a different pitch. In guitar notation, scores are frequently written an octave higher than the sounding pitch to keep notation readable.

Overview: The concept of the octave is foundational in Western music, reflecting the doubling of frequency across a span that divides the scale into two perceptually similar pitch sets. The term lottava, while informative, is typically encountered in Italian-language sources or discussions of historical notation, with ottava being the more common modern form.