How is pitch determined

Matter 2. Physical Quantities and Measurement 3. Force and Pressure 4. Energy 5. Light Energy 6. Heat Transfer 7. Sound 8. Objective Questions 2. Q14 What determines the pitch of a sound? The pitch ascribed to a complex tone or sound may not necessarily correspond to a frequency that is physically present in the sound. In summary, Schouten has stated, "The pitch ascribed to a complex sound is the pitch of that component to which the attention, either by virtue of its loudness or of its contrast with former sounds is strongest drawn.

Therefore the pitch of a complex sound may be different depending on the circumstances under which it is heard. However, equal frequency intervals do not always give the same sense of pitch distance, depending on the RANGE in which the interval is situated.

The disadvantage is that the waveform is invisible. The simplest but least accurate way to measure pitch is to do it by ear, using a musical instrument such as a piano. To measure pitch, the listener hears the sound which she wishes to measure, then plays the piano keys until she finds the key that most closely matches the pitch of the sound. The pitch of the sound is approximately the same as the name of the note.

Or, the user can refer to a chart which gives the frequency for each note see Resources. Bob Romanov has been writing since , specializing in music technology and video games. He makes music professionally and has built several of his own electronic instruments. He is an authority on all kinds of video games, from vintage Atari to the newest generation of console and PC games.

Shorter prongs produce higher pitch frequency sounds than longer prongs. Long prongs will bend more readily and therefore tend to vibrate at a lower frequency when struck. Volume , or loudness, is related to the strength, intensity, pressure, or power of the sound. There are a few ways of varying the volume of a tuning fork.

Touching the vibrating fork to a table after being struck produces a louder sound. When both the table and the tuning fork vibrate, more air molecules are moved than by the tuning fork on its own. Touching a vibrating fork to clothes or your hand causes a damping effect on the vibrations reduction in size and the sound disappears. The energy from the vibrating fork is converted to moving your skin or clothes rather than moving air.

Resonance is the tendency of an object to vibrate at maximum amplitude size at a certain frequency. This frequency is known as the object's resonant frequency. Acoustic sound resonance is an important consideration for instrument builders, as most acoustic instruments use resonators think of the box of a guitar or a violin, or the hollow body of a drum. Describe the properties of sound.

Per Class: tuning forks rubber mallet or the rubber bottom of a shoe resonance box optional.