Off topic - "A" is 440kHZ, what's "B"?

mr miyagi · Post by **mr miyagi** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:37 pm

Does anyone have a resource to help me determine what the different kHZ are for musical notes? Thanks!

simonr · Post by **simonr** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:40 pm

try:
http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

bkshepard · Post by **bkshepard** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:23 pm

BTW, A=440Hz is just an agreed-upon convention that many musicians use. Over the last two centuries, the frequency of A (as well as all the other notes) has gradually risen. 200 years ago or so, A was around 400 Hz. Some orchestras today, are even tuning a little higher around 442Hz or so.

mr miyagi · Post by **mr miyagi** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:29 pm

thanks Simon, exactly what I need!

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:58 pm

Simon's ref should tell you what you need to know for the specific question at hand.

In case you find yourself collaborating with, or writing for, Europeans, note that historically the standard has been slightly different with A=438 being common (at least mid-20th-century).

Many plug-ins support switching the standard pitch; although this feature is often hidden. Choosing different temperaments also has an impact on the relative pitch.

For most practical purposes, though, that chart from the Michigan Tech Physics Dept. should suffice.

sdemott · Post by **sdemott** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:20 pm

Yeah - then you get a jerk like me who insists on A415 for reasons of history & physics (okay - and I think it sounds more natural).

Total trivia here. When they found Antonio Stradivari's tuning fork it measured a solid 414.97Hz. And it has long been known among Stradivarius owners that tuning down a half step (the equivalent of A415) makes the instrument sing. I even once had the pleasure of recording a fine Stradivarius that was tuned down and it was a beautiful sound.

FWIW A415 is often referred to as Baroque Tuning or Baroque Standard.

I am a font of useless information

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:36 pm

As usual, Wiki knows all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(music)

Mr_Clifford · Post by **Mr_Clifford** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:59 pm

sdemott wrote: I even once had the pleasure of recording a fine Stradivarius that was tuned down and it was a beautiful sound.

FWIW A415 is often referred to as Baroque Tuning or Baroque Standard.

I am a font of useless information

So there you go. Guns n' Roses, AC/DC & Van Halen actually tune down a half step because they're students of baroque music history.

Can you imagine Angus Young & Slash having an argument over the proper 'authentic' way to play a baroque mordent?

artfarm1 · Post by **artfarm1** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 5:49 pm

Hi...... these links will help you find any note and any frequency!

http://www.michaelnorris.info/freqtonote.html

http://www.vortexmaps.com/htmla/hertz.htm

bongo_x · Post by **bongo_x** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:10 pm

Mr_Clifford wrote: ...So there you go. Guns n' Roses, AC/DC & Van Halen actually tune down a half step because they're students of baroque music history...

really? I never noticed that (the tuning down part, not the baroque music studies). interesting, I'm always surprised by how unobservant I can be.

I sometimes work with a rock band that always tunes a half step down (and are big ac/dc and van halen fans, hmmm...). they've done it for so long that they forget all about it. so when they say somethings in ""A", you guessed it, I'm completely confused. if I wasn't a total caveman, musically (and body hair-wise), it wouldn't be that big of a deal I guess.

I thought they were just being lazy jackasses who didn't want to sing that high, I didn't know they were being snooty musicologists.

bb

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:54 pm

I hesitated to mention the connection of Death Metal to Baroque as it seemed O.T., but I guess now everything is fair game

.

FWIW, I think the motivation is similar, as opposed to it being laziness when playing in "difficult" keys. All of the metal, hard rock, and alterna-rock people I have worked with tell me they do it because they prefer the timbre when the instrument is down-tuned. Similar to the Stradivarius Violin having been idealised for A=415.

Thanks for the additional links, and of course Wikipedia is always a good source (though not as a sole source).

marcmarc · Post by **marcmarc** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:25 am

Try that : http://lost-memories.com/softs/
a freeware which has all you need and more...

wurliuchi · Post by **wurliuchi** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:53 am

marcmarc wrote:Try that : http://lost-memories.com/softs/
a freeware which has all you need and more...

That's sweet! Very nicely done.

zed · Post by **zed** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:55 am

To 493.88Hz or not to 493.88Hz. That is the question.

marcmarc wrote:Try that : http://lost-memories.com/softs/
a freeware which has all you need and more...

Thanks marcmarc! That is a very useful utility. I'll be getting some regular use out of it.

Phil O · Post by **Phil O** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 4:51 am

zed wrote:To 493.88Hz or not to 493.88Hz. That is the question.

Damn! You beat me to it. Someone always beats me to a great play on words...err numbers. Aw 391.9954!

Phil