Garry Kvistad, founder of Woodstock Chimes, offers a brief lesson on music theory, specifically octave doubling. In the western scale, there are seven notes, often remembered through the Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti scale from The Sound of Music. The “Do” notes at the start and end of the scale are the same, but one is an octave higher than the other. When a scale is repeated in higher or lower octaves, this is called octave doubling. Notes separated by an octave are considered harmonically equivalent, creating a pleasing sound when played together. The lower note’s vibration is exactly half the speed of the higher note, which makes them beautifully in tune. Some of Woodstock Chimes’ chimes, like the Space Odyssey chime, use octave doubling in a chime-within-a-chime design, coupling notes in four octaves to produce a special tuning that enhances harmonics. Overall, octave doubling enriches the sound by adding more notes and harmonically blending them together. Find all of their octave doubling chimes here.