6.6 What is pitch ?
Description
This article is from the Acoustics FAQ, by Andrew Silverman with numerous contributions by others.
6.6 What is pitch ?
The term "pitch" has both a subjective and an objective sense. Concert pitch is an objective term corresponding to the frequency of a musical note A (at present 440Hz). Using such a standard will define the pitch of every other note on a particular musical scale. For example, with Equal Temperament each semitone is higher or lower in frequency than the previous semitone by a factor of 2^(1/12). An octave is a pitch interval of 2:1. Many sounds with no obvious tonal prominence are considered by musicians to be of indeterminate pitch; for example, the side drum, cymbals, triangle, castanets, tambourine, and likewise the spoken word. Pitch is also a subjective frequency ordering of sounds. Perceived pitch is dependent on frequency, waveform and amplitude or changing amplitude. Numbers can be assigned to perceived pitch relative to a pure frontal tone of 1000Hz at 40dB (1000 mels) thereby establishing a pitch scale.
Further info and examples on pitch from URL: http://www.music.mcgill.ca/auditory/Auditory.html
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