MEPX
Chapter 1 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Sound and pitch
  2. 2Reading notation
  3. 3Rhythm and metre
  4. 4Scales and keys
  5. 5Harmony
  6. 6Melody and phrasing
  7. 7Form
  8. 8Instruments and voices
  9. 9Music around the world
  10. 10Listening and playing

Chapter 1 of 10

Sound and pitch

Frequency and perception.

What pitch is

Pitch tracks frequency: more cycles per second is heard as higher. Doubling the frequency produces an octave, which we hear as the same note again.

  • A4 is commonly tuned to 440 Hz.
  • Octave equivalence appears independently in most musical cultures.

Timbre

Two instruments playing the same pitch differ in their overtones and in how the note begins. That envelope and spectrum is what lets you name the instrument instantly.