8vo in music meaning | TheMusicDictionary

Meaning of 8vo in Music

In music notation, the term "8vo" or "8va" is used to indicate that a passage should be played one octave higher than written. It is an abbreviation of the Italian word "ottava," which means "octave". The notation "8va" is written above a note or phrase to indicate playing it one octave higher, while "8vb" is written below a note or phrase to indicate playing it one octave lower This notation is used to avoid writing numerous ledger lines and to make reading music easier for performers

Abbreviation for octavo.

Popular questions related to 8vo

An octavo is a book or pamphlet made up of one or more full sheets of paper on which 16 pages of text were printed, which were then folded three times to produce eight leaves. Each leaf of an octavo book thus represents one eighth the size of the original sheet.

6.75 x 10.5.″ Choral music, on the other hand, is often printed octavo size, 6.75 x 10.5.″ This size, and heavier paper, can both help minimize the sound of page turns, especially important in larger choirs.

So starting with a demy sheet, which measured 22½” x 17½”, folding it once will give you demy folio; fold it in half again and you've got demy quarto, again and it's demy octavo, 8¾” x 5-5/8”.

When four leaves (eight pages) were printed on the same size sheet, which would later be folded twice, the format of the resultant volume was a "quarto" (four leaves). The term "octavo" relates to the sheet having eight leaves printed on it.

Just as "folio" means that the original sheet of paper is folded one, so "quarto" means that the original sheet has been folded twice, so that the resultant size is one quarter of the original. "Sixmo" means that it is one sixth of the original and "octavo" that is one eighth of the original.

Formats smaller than octavo are comparatively rare and are usually just referred to with a number and the syllable “mo”; the most commonly named ones are 12mo, 16mo, 24mo, 32mo, 64mo, and 128mo.

A440 (sometimes called A4) is the 440 Hz tone that serves as the internationally recognized standard for musical pitch. A440 is the musical note A above middle C.

To make life even simpler, remember 'Folio' is a large upright-shaped book and an 'Octavo' is a small upright-shaped book, while a 'Quarto' is in-between the two and mostly square-shaped. fo.

Guide to book formats