This Kapow pupil video is part of the Kapow Music scheme of work. An octave is the word used to describe the eight-note distance between two notes with the same letter name, like A to A or C to C.

Music uses the notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. When you count from one note to the next with the same name, you always pass through eight steps. The word octave comes from the Latin word for eight, just like octopus has eight legs. Two notes an octave apart sound similar, even though one is higher and the other is lower. This happens because the higher note vibrates twice as fast as the lower note, so we hear them as the same note but at different pitches. On the stave, one of the octave notes will always be on a line and the other in a space.

Music, KS2 Whole-class instrumental lessons, Instrumental lessons, Unit 4: Indonesia (Instrumental lessons), Lesson 3: Exploring octaves