Pitch (music)

In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. For example, the A above middle C is nowadays set at (often written as "A = 440 Hz", and known as concert pitch), although this has not always been the case (see "Historical pitch standards"). Pitch is often cited as one of the fundamental aspects of music.

Related Topics:
Music - Frequency - Note - Middle C - 440 Hz - "Historical pitch standards"

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Pitch is something perceived by the human ear, as opposed to frequency, the physical measurement of vibration. The note A above middle C played on any instrument is perceived to be of the same pitch as a pure tone of 440Hz, but does not necessarily contain that frequency or only that frequency. Furthermore, a slight change in frequency need not lead to a perceived change in pitch, but a change in pitch implies a change in frequency. In fact, the just noticeable difference (the threshold at which a change in pitch is perceived) is about five cents, but varies over the range of hearing and is more precise when the two pitches are played simultaneously. Like other human stimuli, the perception of pitch also can be explained by the Weber-Fechner law.

Related Topics:
Frequency - Pure tone - Just noticeable difference - Threshold - Cent - Simultaneously - Weber-Fechner law

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Pitches may be described in various ways, including high or low, as discrete or indiscrete, pitch that changes with time (chirping) and the manner in which this change with time occurs: gliding; portamento; or vibrato, and as determinate or indeterminate. Pitch is often measured by frequency or wavelength, but is most often discussed either through notation and the accompanying letter labels (C#). Musically the frequency of specific pitches is not as important as their relationships to other frequencies - the difference between two pitches can be expressed by a ratio or measured in cents. People with a sense of these relationships are said to have relative pitch while people who have a sense of the actual frequencies independent of other pitches are said to have absolute pitch, less accurately called perfect pitch.

Related Topics:
Discrete - Chirp - Gliding - Portamento - Vibrato - Frequency - Wavelength - Notation - Ratio - Cent - Relative pitch - Absolute pitch

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The relative pitches of individual notes in a scale may be determined by one of a number of tuning systems. In the west, the twelve-note chromatic scale is the most common method of organization, with equal temperament now the most widely used method of tuning that scale. In it, the pitch ratio between any two successive notes of the scale is exactly the twelfth root of two (or about 1.05946). In well-tempered systems (as used in the time of Johann Sebastian Bach, for example), different methods of musical tuning were used. Almost all of these systems have one interval in common, the octave, where the pitch of one note is double the frequency of another. For example, if the A above middle C is 440 Hz, the A an octave above that will be .

Related Topics:
Scale - Tuning - Chromatic scale - Equal temperament - Well-tempered - Johann Sebastian Bach - Interval - Octave

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Like other senses, the relative perception of pitch can be fooled, resulting in "audio illusions". There are several of these, such as the tritone paradox, but most notably the Shepard scale, where a continuous or discrete sequence of specially formed tones can be made to sound like this sequence continues ascending forever, when this in fact is a clever audio illusion.

Related Topics:
Audio illusions - Tritone paradox - Shepard scale

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In atonal, twelve tone, or set theory a "pitch" is a specific frequency while a pitch class is all the octaves of a frequency. Pitches are named with integers because of octave and enharmonic equivalency (for example, C# and Db are the same pitch while C4 and C5 are functionally the same, one octave apart).

Related Topics:
Atonal - Twelve tone - Set theory - Pitch class - Integer

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Discrete pitches, rather than continuously variable pitches, are virtually universal, with exceptions including "tumbling strains" (Sachs & Kunst, 1962) and "indeterminate-pitch chants" (Malm, 1967). Gliding pitches are used in most cultures, but are related to the discrete pitches they reference or embellish. (Burns, 1999)

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