79
votes
Can wind instruments be played out of tune?
Yes, all wind instruments can be played out of tune. Very out of tune.
Source: I work with junior concert bands.
To elaborate, the frequency produced by a given wind instrument is a function of the ...
- 9,679
63
votes
Why is my D string showing a C♯ on my tuner?
The tuner does not hear what pitch your string is supposed to be at but only what pitch it actually is. If your string is more than a quartertone flat, it is closer to a C♯ than to a D. So your ...
- 471
57
votes
Why do pianos not need to be tuned every time you play?
Piano strings are attached to a cast iron frame, also known as harp. Cast iron is much less sensitive to humidity and temperature changes than wood. This is the main reason why they stay in tune ...
- 3,475
57
votes
Does tuning music to A = 432 Hz versus A = 440 Hz have a measurable effect on listeners?
Yes. When you tune music up or down people hear it differently. Everyone agrees on that. Pitch it down and it will sound warmer, pitch it up and it will sound brighter. This happens all the time when ...
- 699
52
votes
Why are C♯ and D♭ different frequencies?
The linked answer is a bit of a mess, and it's a common mess for people to make.
When we talk about the exact frequencies of each pitch class, we have to know the temperament, and a reference pitch. ...
- 22.6k
50
votes
Accepted
Can wind instruments be played out of tune?
Yes, wind instruments can play out of tune, even when the instrument is "tuned properly" (which isn't as well-defined as it seems). In fact, the same can be said for fretted string instruments as well....
- 677
45
votes
Accepted
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
38
votes
Accepted
If equal temperament divides an octave into 12 equal parts, why are the hertz differences not the same but 12ths of two?
The intervals between notes are "equal" not in the sense that the difference in Hz between them is the same, but the ratio a between them is the same. Let's say g is one semitone higher than f, then g ...
37
votes
Why can't notes be tuned according to a defined frequency?
We can tune each string/pipe to a given frequency as accurately as we need to for musical purposes.
We can't do it so that they collectively satisfy several musically desirable properties, because ...
- 7,828
35
votes
Is it better to choose 440 Hz or 432 Hz to tune an acoustic piano?
It might extend string life, and it might make the piano sound rather dull since the strings may be designed for the tension at which A is 440 Hz or even higher. Whether it's better is a matter of ...
- 26.3k
30
votes
Accepted
Why does my new guitar become untuned every day?
If it's a brand new guitar, it's likely that the strings on it are new as well.
New guitar strings have a certain amount of stretchiness that can cause them to become flat (e.g. go down in tuned ...
- 779
30
votes
Why are C♯ and D♭ different frequencies?
The short answer is that for 12-tone equal temperament (12TET), the de facto tuning system for western music, Db and C# are exactly the same sounding note. Exactly what frequency that note sounds like ...
- 486
30
votes
Does octave not matter when tuning?
Why does it not matter what octave you're tuning to?
If you want to set a string to a certain pitch, of course it does matter what octave you adjust the string to.
Setting a string to A3 (220Hz) is ...
- 46.1k
29
votes
If equal temperament divides an octave into 12 equal parts, why are the hertz differences not the same but 12ths of two?
The division of notes has to do with human perception and psychoacoustics. One description of human perception is the Weber-Fechner law, where a human will perceive equal changes in some sensory ...
- 1,802
26
votes
Accepted
Why did equal temperament become the standard tuning system for keyboard instruments?
Partly to allow the same, diatonic, piece to be played at different pitches as @Tim suggests. But also, I think, because music started getting more tonally adventurous within the SAME piece. When ...
- 95.6k
26
votes
Are there pieces that require retuning an instrument mid-performance?
Lots of classical music require retuning of timpani (or purchasing a larger drum set). Von Biber's Rosary Sonatas require retuning a violin between each section.
- 25.8k
25
votes
Accepted
Do classical pieces sound different today than the originals due to temperament?
Yes, but also due to the changes in piano construction.
In some ways, a classical piece played on a modern piano might sound more true to the composer's original intent than the piano it was ...
- 58.6k
25
votes
What’s that U shaped metal thing needed for tuning called?
It's a tuning fork:
(image taken from the Thomann website)
- 3,644
24
votes
Why does a digital piano need stretched tuning?
The reason is that digital piano has the same inharmonicity as real one. If the digital simulation is based on samples from a real piano, it will inherit the inharmonicity from the sampled instrument. ...
- 3,475
23
votes
Accepted
Why is a 440 Hz frequency considered the "standard" pitch for musical instruments?
440 Hz is the standard that has been adopted.
Before it was, an instrument tuned in one country or even city was out of tune in another; confusion reigned. The short version of it is that ...
- 839
23
votes
Are there pieces that require retuning an instrument mid-performance?
In "The Rite of Spring" Stravinsky requires the celli to detune their A-strings to G-sharp for the final chord of the piece (and asks them to play a four-note chord "non arpeggiato"...
- 22k
23
votes
Perfect Pitch: Are tones recognizable by themselves or only in comparison with another tone?
I don't have perfect pitch, but I've had several friends over the years who did.
Are the frequencies C4 260hz and A4 440hz actually noticeably different to someone with “perfect pitch”.
Yes.
I ask ...
- 26.3k
22
votes
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
22
votes
Accepted
I broke my G string and my other 3 strings are out of tune too
You have eleven days until the concert. Even if you don't have a local music store, that's plenty of time to order a string online.
In case you can't get hold of a replacement:
The strings are all ...
- 22k
21
votes
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an all-fourths guitar tuning?
I've tried all-fourths tuning quite a bit. To me, it definitely makes purely monophonic playing a lot more instinctive (even having got used to standard tuning) - any little one-octave scale shape you ...
- 46.1k
21
votes
Retuning violin numerous times daily
Alas, string instruments notoriously lose tuning for seemingly trivial reasons, especially classical guitars and wooden bowed strings. Temperature, humidity, looking at it... so, better get used to ...
- 35.8k
21
votes
Accepted
Why can't notes be tuned according to a defined frequency?
Why can't notes be tuned according to a defined frequency?
They can. But what we can't do is tune them to "the correct" frequency, because there are different ways in which the 'correct' frequency ...
- 46.1k
21
votes
Accepted
Tuning the lowest bass string a hair flat
Thanks for a great question. Being a bassist and an admirer of Paul and the Beatles it was great to hear isolated bass tracks from the Abbey Road album.
In answer to your summary question, there ...
- 28.6k
20
votes
Accepted
Why does the same classical piece sound like it's in a different key in different recordings?
The difference, in short, is because one of the ensembles is using historical tuning practices.
The modern pitch standard is A440, meaning that A4 (the A above middle C) is 440 Hertz. Not everyone ...
- 85.1k
20
votes
If equal temperament divides an octave into 12 equal parts, why are the hertz differences not the same but 12ths of two?
What happens if you go down by the same steps:
440Hz
1 step down : 403.33Hz
2 steps down : 366.67Hz
3 steps down : 330.Hz
...
11 steps down : 36.67Hz
12 steps down : 0Hz
13 steps down : -36.67Hz
So,...
- 28.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible