Dictionary of Music - Birding America

294 ottavaottava (ô tä′vä) Italian: “octave.” Also written8va, all′ ottava (äl′′ô tä′vä). Indication to raise orlower notes by an octave, cancelled by LOCO. 1 Also,ottava alta (ô tä′ vä äl′tä), ottava sopra (ô tä′väsôp′rä). Placed over one note or a group of notes, anindication that the notes should sound one octavehigher than written. 2 Also, ottava bassa (ô tä′väbäs′sä), ottava sotto (ô tä′vä sôt′tô). Placed undera note or a group of notes, an indication that thenotes should sound one octave lower than written.3 Placed under the treble clef, an indication that allthe notes on the treble staff should sound one octavehigher than written. 4 Placed under the bass clef, anindication that all the notes on the bass staff shouldsound one octave lower than written. 5 coll’ottava(kôl ô tä′vä). A direction to play, in addition tothe notes written, the notes an octave below (or,sometimes, above).ottava alta See OTTAVA, def. 1.ottava bassa See OTTAVA, def. 2.ottava sopra See OTTAVA, def. 1.ottava sotto See OTTAVA, def. 2.ottavino (ô tä vē′nô).COLO.ottoni (ô tôn′ē).oudThe Italian word for PIC-The Italian for brass instruments.Another spelling for ’UD.ouverture (oo — ver tYr′). The French word forOVERTURE.Ouvertüre (oo — ′′ver tYr′ə). The German word forOVERTURE.overblowing Forcing more air pressure into apipe, causing it to sound not the ordinary pitch butone of its harmonics (overtones). Most often thetone sounded is exactly one octave higher than thepitch produced ordinarily, that is, the first harmonicof the HARMONIC SERIES; this is true of open pipes,such as oboes, English horns, bassoons, and fluepipes of organs. In some instruments overblowingproduces the sound a twelfth (an octave plus a fifth)higher than the ordinary pitch, that is, the secondharmonic in the harmonic series; this is true of clarinetsand stopped organ pipes, which both are closedat one end.Overblowing, which is an important technique inplaying wind instruments, particularly woodwinds(oboes, clarinets, etc.), is accomplished both by theperformer’s blowing harder and by changing theposition of the lips. This increased air pressurecauses the column of air inside the instrument tovibrate not along its full length, which would producethe fundamental pitch, but along a portion of itslength. If that portion is exactly half of the totallength, the first harmonic is produced; if it is onethirdof the total length, the second harmonic(twelfth) is sounded. (See also SOUND; WOODWINDINSTRUMENTS.)overdubbingovertoneMONIC SERIES.See DUBBING.Another name for harmonic; see HAR-overture (ō′vər chər). A piece of orchestralmusic that serves as an introduction to a longerwork, such as an opera, oratorio, ballet, or instrumentalsuite. The practice of writing overtures datesfrom about the middle of the seventeenth century,and the first composer to give such pieces a more orless standard form was Lully. The form he used,which came to be called French overture, consistsof two sections, a slow, stately opening part, usuallywith dotted rhythm, and a fast section featuring imitation(repetition of the same melody in differentvoice-parts). Occasionally Lully added a coda (briefconcluding section) in the slow style of the first section.Famous examples of the French overture arefound in Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas (1689)and Handel’s oratorio Messiah (1742). The so-called“French overtures” of Bach and other German composersactually consist of an overture followed by asuite (group of related dance movements; see SUITE,def. 1).Later in the seventeenth century another form ofoverture was established, principally by Alessandro