Hi, I know what 8va and 8vb means when its placed ontop of notes, but what does just plain 8 means? (8 is that up one octave too?) this is in Chopin's Fantasie. Also I notice the piano has 3 things you can step on, the right is the pedal whats the other 2 do?

dunno what the 8 means but the pedals. the middle one is to soften the sound for the softening effect and the left one is for practising apparently - because it dmapens the sound so that it doesnt disturb other people while playing so that you dont annoy them. I've only used the middle one once and I cant even remember the notation for that. Other one is pointless to use.

"8va" which you already know is 8 octave. The "8" in this case means you play the 8 notes higher than it really is. Simple isn't it?

With the pedals, it matters if you have an upright piano or a grand piano. I think on an upright the pedels do this(from right to left) soft pedal, mute, and sustain pedal.
On a grand piano the left one's wierd, what it does is it sustains any notes you have pressed down when you step on it but if you play a note afterward it wont hold it. middle is soft pedal and right is sustain.

The 8 all depends on what it is...like with vocal you use that for tenor notes.But on piano it is as follows...Bass cleff down 1 octave, trebale up 1 octave,tenor down 1 octave. And on the pedals it does matter the type of piano...If you have a chior piano left pedal is usless, Middle softens, right sustain...But on the normal upright (and grand?) right is sustain, middle is usless, and the left does somthing the the sound of the notes.

I have an upright and with the pedals this is what mypiano teacher told me.

Looking at a piano, the right is the one that you se to sustain, the middle is the sostenuto pedal, and the left is the soft or damper pedal.

I'm trusting my piano teacher. She's the professor of piano at Ohio University.

Originally posted by shirahimae@Mar 1 2005, 01:41 AM
"8va" which you already know is 8 octave. The "8" in this case means you play the 8 notes higher than it really is. Simple isn't it?
ohhh I see thansk alot really simple i guess -_-. So If the 8-- is ontop of a "C" then I would count 8 keys up and it would be "D" ?

Originally posted by venz@Mar 1 2005, 12:02 AM
ohhh I see thansk alot really simple i guess -_-. So If the 8-- is ontop of a "C" then I would count 8 keys up and it would be "D" ?
No, it would be the next higher "C". ("8vb" is the next lower "C".)

Actually, I was informed by my former piano teacher that 8vb is an incorrect annotation for "an octave below". Anyone able to support/negate this? I was told that 8va can be used normally to indicate "an octave below", as long as it is below the staff it is recognizing, not above it.

Originally posted by Gnomish@Mar 1 2005, 12:47 AM
Actually, I was informed by my former piano teacher that 8vb is an incorrect annotation for "an octave below". Anyone able to support/negate this? I was told that 8va can be used normally to indicate "an octave below", as long as it is below the staff it is recognizing, not above it.
Technically, you're correct; but "8vb" is sometimes used as an "unofficial" shorthand in certain situations (i.e. sight-reading) to avoid confusion.

Originally posted by an-kun@Feb 27 2005, 12:42 PM
dunno what the 8 means but the pedals. the middle one is to soften the sound for the softening effect and the left one is for practising apparently - because it dmapens the sound so that it doesnt disturb other people while playing so that you dont annoy them. I've only used the middle one once and I cant even remember the notation for that. Other one is pointless to use.
That ain't true. I use the soft pedal sometimes. It's good for when you want to play really soft, but your fingers just can't press any softer and still play the notes. I use it in the intro to ffvii.

Originally posted by venz@Mar 1 2005, 05:02 AM
ohhh I see thansk alot really simple i guess -_-. So If the 8-- is ontop of a "C" then I would count 8 keys up and it would be "D" ?
what the hell? then 8 and 8va is the same thing?!?!

I think it's the same thing as 8va in Bass clef (ie, an octave down) for Trebel clef, since 8va in Trebel clef means octave up, and they probably wanted to avoid the confusion. Usually though, if it's below the clef, it's octave down, and if it's above the clef, it's octave up.

Properly called, the Ottava, they are abbrevated 8va. They say that 8va is played one octive up, and 8va bassa or 8va placed underneath the staff signifies one octive lower.


(heh, I'll try to cite it)
Feldstein, Sandy. Pocket Dictionary of Music. Third Edition. Alfred's Publishing Co. 63.