Genus (music) the other hand, also has twelve pitches to the octave, but the semitones are all of the same size. In contrast, the ancient Greek chromatic scale had seven tones to the octave (assuming alternating conjunct and disjunct tetrachords), and had incomposite minor thirds as well as semitones and whole tones. The (Dorian) scale generated from the chromatic genus is composed of two chromatic tetrachords: whereas in modern music theory, a chromatic scale is: The number and nature of the shades of the chromatic genus vary amongst the Greek theorists. The major division is between the Aristoxenians and the Pythagoreans. Aristoxenus
Octave (poetry) Octave (poetry) An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter (in English) or of hendecasyllables (in Italian). The most common rhyme scheme for an octave is "abba abba". An octave is the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, which ends with a contrasting sestet. In traditional Italian sonnets the octave always ends with a conclusion of one idea, giving way to another idea in the sestet. Some English sonnets break that rule, often to striking effect. In Milton's Sonnet 16, the sestet begins early, halfway through the last line of the octave: Patience's too-quick reply