45
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Why do people with perfect pitch perceive tunes not in 440 Hz out of tune?
As someone with absolute pitch and trained in A440 12-tone equal temperament (i.e. the usual) with plenty of vocal music as a backup, I perceive notes that are several cents out of tune as "off" ...
- 14.3k
35
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What are 'Roland pitch' and 'Yamaha pitch'? and How do I convert notes to them?
Middle C, the C written below the treble clef and above the bass clef, has MIDI note 60. Conventionally, this note is referred to as C4. However, Yamaha refers to MIDI note 60 (middle C) as C3. ...
- 21.7k
33
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Why is the clarinet able to play lower notes than the soprano sax?
Both instruments (as well as all single- and double-reeded instruments and all brass instruments) behave as tubes closed at one end. The difference is that saxophone (and all other reeds) are conical, ...
- 22.6k
27
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Is there a mathematical formula or a list of frequencies (Hz) of notes?
In the 12-TET (12 Tone Equal Temperament) tuning system: we want the ratio of pitches in an octave to be 2:1, and we also want 12 (exponentially) equally spaced semitones per octave. So, the ...
- 14.7k
25
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What is the reason a given note can have different "sounds"
Simple answer - overtones or harmonics. Each sound producing machine (instrument) has the propensity to produce not only the fundamental (first harmonic), but others too. The mix of whichever these ...
- 197k
24
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Why are drums considered non pitched instruments?
A drum is usually considered a non-pitched instrument because it produces a weak fundamental frequency, produces inharmonic overtones, and the pitches it does produce are unrelated to the rest of the ...
- 645
22
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Why do people with perfect pitch perceive tunes not in 440 Hz out of tune?
I don't think I agree with what you have been told.
Perfect pitch is the ability to memorize, and recall, pitches. Now just because you can do it doesn't mean that you always actually do it.
If ...
- 5,126
21
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What is the reason a given note can have different "sounds"
There's more to an instrument's waveform than the over-riding 'perceived pitch' frequency. There's lots of other frequencies mixed in there.
And apart from the sustain portion of a musical note (...
- 95.6k
20
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Do out of tune singers hear that they're off?
This is all a bit stream of consciousness... hope I didn't drift too far from the plot ;-)
People who sing out of tune rarely sing consistently out of tune.
People who really cannot sing tend also ...
- 28k
20
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Accurately recalling the key - can everyone do it?
Most people can't do it.
Absolute pitch reference [perfect pitch] is quite rare - just as rare as people who 'couldn't carry a tune in a bucket'.
Pitch reference, the same as most skills, is on a ...
- 28k
17
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Accurately recalling the key - can everyone do it?
Not many people can actually sing acapella in the key required.(Without being given a start note/chord). They may well sing the tune, in a different key (maybe +/- a m3) but to actually sing in the ...
- 197k
17
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Perfect pitch on only one instrument?
You might be listening to the timbre of the different notes. I remember watching this video , where the person describes learning perfect pitch from the timbre of the instrument. His process is to ...
- 1,769
16
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If you don't use Solfège, how do you read & memorize music-- what goes through your mind?
Solfege - unprofessional? Not at all. I have been working with French musos who only think, speak and play using solfege! But it gets worse! They use fixed do, not like some of us are used to, movable ...
- 197k
15
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Do musical instruments pitched at different frequencies play different notes when compared to each other?
I don't understand what you mean by 'pitched at'. Most instruments will use A=440Hz as a reference point, and that's how each and every orchestral instrument gets to be in tune with the rest.
A flute ...
- 197k
15
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Is the pitch-producing mechanism for singing and humming the same or entirely different?
You can try this for yourself. Sing a note, to any vowel sound (try them all) and whilst doing so, close your lips. Now you're humming that same note. Feel any difference? Probably not, because the ...
- 197k
15
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What is the best METHOD in acquiring perfect pitch?
Factual answer - if you don't already have perfect (absolute) pitch, there's a darned good chance you never will.
Absolute pitch is the ability to hear any sound and recognise its pitch - either in ...
- 197k
14
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Do musical instruments pitched at different frequencies play different notes when compared to each other?
I think that your attempt at "understanding how the pitch affects the note" needs an answer with a deeper root than has been given. This is slightly mathematical, but rather necessary.
First, let's ...
- 1,855
13
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What is the difference between perfect pitch, pitch memorization and relative pitch?
Perfect (or absolute) pitch is the ability to instantly recognize a note or to instantly produce the sound of a requested pitch. Someone with absolute pitch can immediately sing for you a D♭, or they ...
- 85.1k
13
votes
Accurately recalling the key - can everyone do it?
Even studies on the Levitin Effect, a phenomenon that posits that people can tend to accurately recall the key of a familiar melody, discover that at least a significant minority of people cannot ...
- 14.3k
12
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Why do people with perfect pitch perceive tunes not in 440 Hz out of tune?
The 440Hz reference point is a convention, but it's very consistently used. This means that if you can sense it, you will likely form your entire understanding of harmony and music with this included ...
- 518
12
votes
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Can there be intermediate musical pitches between semitones?
Absolutely there are pitches in between. Technically, there are an infinite number of pitches in between each two successive semitones. In practice, quarter tones have been used more than most other ...
- 58.6k
12
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Is the pitch-producing mechanism for singing and humming the same or entirely different?
As Tim suggested, here is some additional information. His answer, by the way, is (sorry in advance) pitch-perfect.
While the fundamental pitch depends only on the vocal cords, the overtones and ...
- 15k
12
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A melody is built from both notes and chords
Your question deals with pitch and how it is used expressively.
The expressiveness of a single pitch is limited, but I would not say it has no expressiveness, no character. Excluding other factors ...
- 59.5k
12
votes
Typical pitch interval of the exclamation "uh-oh!"
The question is related to the "Air Ball" Phenomenon, which was studied by Cherrill P. Heaton starting in 1990 and published in 1992 as "Air Ball: Spontaneous Large Group Precision ...
- 8,830
12
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Does lack of sleep impact on matching pitch and singing well?
I think it's a given that fatigue will affect ANY skill, mental or physical. So yes, it's normal.
Having said that, one definition of a professional is someone who performs competently even on a bad ...
- 95.6k
11
votes
Pitch or frequency?
Frequency refers to the measurable number of cycles per second (Hz) of a periodic sound wave.
Pitch refers to (subjectively) how low or high that wave sounds to us as a note. The way I see it, pitch ...
- 46.1k
11
votes
relation of piano string length to pitch?
The frequency of a vibrating string is primarily based on three factors:
The sounding length (longer is lower, shorter is higher)
The tension on the string (more tension is higher, less is lower)
The ...
- 58.6k
11
votes
Accepted
When I play G, why does it come out as F on bass clarinet?
The bass clarinet is a transposing instrument: the Bb bass clarinet sounds a full major 9th below what is written for its sheet music. For example, that written G in the OP sounds like the F in the ...
- 14.3k
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