short octave

music

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

A "short octave" refers to an incomplete lowest octave on an organ or keyboard instrument. In this arrangement, some keys do not produce their expected pitches but are tuned to lower notes. This was a common feature in early keyboards, particularly in the bass register, where certain sharps (like C♯, E♭, F♯, and G♯) were omitted or divided because they were infrequently used in the music of that era. This design allowed for a full octave's range within a smaller apparent key span, often starting on E but sounding C, and later evolving with divided keys to accommodate more notes as musical needs changed.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

keyboard instrument
The short octave
Even after the present arrangement of five raised keys and seven natural keys per octave had become standard in the 15th century, two exceptions existed. The first of these—the “short octave”—concerned only the lowest octave at the bass end of the keyboard. In…
Read More
Even after the present arrangement of five raised keys and seven natural keys per octave had become standard in the 15th century, two exceptions existed. The first of these—the “short octave”—concerned only the lowest octave at the bass end of the keyboard. In…
Read More