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→Counting Up/Down and Octaves
==== Counting Up/Down and Octaves ====
Given any two notes forming an interval, the lower-pitched of the two notes in an interval is typically referred to as the '''root note'''. Whether you measure the interval from the higher note to the lower or lower to higher is immaterial - it's the same distance either way. However, this can get confusing if which note is actually lower is ambiguous. For example, if you have a C and a D, if and the C is the root note, you have a 2nd interval (C D). If the D is lower, you have a 7th interval (D E F G A B C).
When an interval spans 8 or more notes, the intervals could be considered to get larger and larger. For example, the interval from C to the D over one octave higher is technically a 9th (C D E F G A B C D). In terms of harmony, however, these intervals are often transposed to be within an octave. Just as octaves are considered harmonically equivalent, intervals are considered harmonically equivalent to intervals one or more octaves larger. This keeps understanding harmony simpler and let's us focus on note names more than pitch - we have 12 notes to worry about instead of the 49 fretted notes of a 24-fret, 6-string guitar and 88 keys of a full size piano.