Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A pure tone's pressure waveform versus time looks like this; its frequency determines the x axis scale; its amplitude determines the y axis scale; and its phase determines the x origin. In psychoacoustics , a pure tone is a sound with a sinusoidal waveform ; that is, a sine wave of constant frequency , phase-shift , and amplitude . [ 1 ]
Middle C is named C 4 and is the start of the 4th octave. Higher octaves use successively higher number and lower octaves use successively lower numbers. The lowest note on most pianos is A 0, the highest is C 8. For instance, the standard 440 Hz tuning pitch is named A 4 in scientific notation and instead named a′ in Helmholtz notation.
The frequency of a pitch is derived by multiplying (ascending) or dividing (descending) the frequency of the previous pitch by the twelfth root of two (approximately 1.059463). [ 1 ] [ 2 ] For example, to get the frequency one semitone up from A 4 (A ♯ 4 ), multiply 440 Hz by the twelfth root of two.
The octave of any pitch refers to a frequency exactly twice that of the given pitch. Succeeding superoctaves are pitches found at frequencies four, eight, sixteen times, and so on, of the fundamental frequency. Pitches at frequencies of half, a quarter, an eighth and so on of the fundamental are called suboctaves.
In musical notation, the different vertical positions of notes indicate different pitches. Play top: Play bottom: Pitch is a perceptual property that allows sounds to be ordered on a frequency-related scale, [1] or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies. [2]
Pitch contour may include multiple sounds utilizing many pitches, and can relate the frequency function at one point in time to the frequency function at a later point. It is fundamental to the linguistic concept of tone , where the pitch or change in pitch of a speech unit over time affects the semantic meaning of a sound.
Middle C (261.626 Hz) Pitch is the lowness or highness of a tone, for example the difference between middle C and a higher C. The frequency of the sound waves producing a pitch can be measured precisely, but the perception of pitch is more complex because single notes from natural sources are usually a complex mix of many frequencies.
Drawing both from music theoretical traditions and the field of psychoacoustics, its perception in large part consists of recognizing and processing consonance, a concept whose precise definition has varied throughout history, but is often associated with simple mathematical ratios between coincident pitch frequencies. In the physiological ...