Originally Posted by: ics1974Because there are 8 WHOLE Tones.
Re-read this...
An Octave is a tone 8 diatonic degrees apart from a tone of the same name.

This means there are 8 TONES in a Major Scale:

C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Yes, but a single fret does not necessarily represent 1 whole tone (more likely than not a half tone)- if that were the case, then the next octave would be on the 7th fret... in the low E string, for example, to reach an octave, it takes twelve frets to reach the next octave, which includes both whole and half steps, hence the chromatic scale. If that does not make sense, just try to play the 8th note above and then play it again with the 12th note above. You will notice the difference and the relationship between notes 8 tones apart and a true octave...by the way, you are referencing the C major scale, which is the very first scale learned by newer musicians- which is very simple because it contains no sharps/flats- you have to look at any other to see their inclusion...it muddles things up a little...good luck!