Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
This is a list of the fundamental frequencies in hertz (cycles per second) of the keys of a modern 88-key standard or 108-key extended piano in twelve-tone equal temperament, with the 49th key, the fifth A (called A 4), tuned to 440 Hz (referred to as A440). [1] [2] Every octave is made of twelve steps called semitones.
An 88-key piano, with the octaves numbered and middle C (cyan) and A 4 (yellow) highlighted. A440 is widely used as concert pitch in the United Kingdom [8] and the United States. [9] In continental Europe the frequency of A 4 commonly varies between 440 Hz and 444 Hz. [8]
The initial standard was A = 439 Hz ⓘ, but this was superseded by A = 440 Hz, possibly because 439 Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory since 439 is a prime number. [22] In 1964, of 31 top professional U.S. orchestras, 19 were tuning at 440, the others at 441 or 442. [23]
The A above middle C is usually set at 440 Hz (often written as "A = 440 Hz" or sometimes "A440"), although other frequencies, such as 442 Hz, are also often used as variants. Another standard pitch, the so-called Baroque pitch , has been set in the 20th century as A = 415 Hz—approximately an equal-tempered semitone lower than A440 to ...
Western music defines pitches around a central reference "concert pitch" of A 4, currently standardized as 440 Hz. Notes played in tune with the 12 equal temperament system will be an integer number h {\displaystyle h} of half-steps above (positive h {\displaystyle h} ) or below (negative h {\displaystyle h} ) that reference note, and thus have ...
When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the F ♯ above middle C (or F ♯ 4) is approximately 369.994Hz. [1] See pitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.
For instance, 660 Hz / 440 Hz (a ratio of 3:2) constitutes a fifth, and 880 Hz / 440 Hz (2:1) an octave. Such intervals (termed "just") have a stability, or purity to their sound, when played simultaneously (assuming they are played using timbres with harmonic partials) because pure intervals do not waver or beat regularly.
When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of the G♯ semitone is approximately 415.305 Hz. [2] See pitch (music) for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.