Fifteenth
Name | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | P15 |
Size | |
Semitones | 24 |
Interval class | 0 |
Just interval | 4:1 |
Cents | |
12-Tone equal temperament | 2400 |
24-Tone equal temperament | 2400 |
Just intonation | 2400 |
In
For example, if one note has a frequency of 400 Hz, the note a fifteenth above it is at 1600 Hz (15ma ), and the note a fifteenth below is at 100 Hz (15mb ). The ratio of frequencies of two notes a fifteenth apart is therefore 4:1.
As the fifteenth is a multiple of octaves, the human
15ma notation
Like the notation 8va for octave (Italian: ottava), 15ma (Italian: quindicesima) means "play two octaves higher than written." It could also mean two octaves lower, but that is usually notated 15mb. Either direction can be cancelled with the word loco, but often a dashed line or bracket indicates the extent of the music affected.
The notations 16va and 16vb are sometimes mistakenly used instead.[2]
Organ stop
On organs, the stops labelled "Fifteenth" ("Superoctave" or "Superoktave") are two octaves above the principal (
References
- ^ Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras Tr. Thomas Taylor (1818) p.328
- ^ Music Dictionary: 1–9 at Dolmetsch Online
- ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.