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    Physics of Music

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    stinkystuff
    The document discusses the physics of music and different tuning systems. It explains that when a string is plucked, the resulting sound consists of the fundamental pitch plus harmonic overtones. This is known as the overtone series. It then describes just intonation, where notes are related by rational number ratios, but the tuning depends on the scale. Equal temperament is introduced as a system where each note is a constant ratio higher than the last, allowing all keys to use the same pitches but introducing small inaccuracies compared to just intonation.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Physics of Music

    Uploaded by

    stinkystuff
    31 views1 page
    The document discusses the physics of music and different tuning systems. It explains that when a string is plucked, the resulting sound consists of the fundamental pitch plus harmonic overtones. This is known as the overtone series. It then describes just intonation, where notes are related by rational number ratios, but the tuning depends on the scale. Equal temperament is introduced as a system where each note is a constant ratio higher than the last, allowing all keys to use the same pitches but introducing small inaccuracies compared to just intonation.

    Original Description:

    This describes the mathematical dynamics of music

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    The document discusses the physics of music and different tuning systems. It explains that when a string is plucked, the resulting sound consists of the fundamental pitch plus harmonic overtones. This is known as the overtone series. It then describes just intonation, where notes are related by rational number ratios, but the tuning depends on the scale. Equal temperament is introduced as a system where each note is a constant ratio higher than the last, allowing all keys to use the same pitches but introducing small inaccuracies compared to just intonation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    31 views1 page

    Physics of Music

    Uploaded by

    stinkystuff
    The document discusses the physics of music and different tuning systems. It explains that when a string is plucked, the resulting sound consists of the fundamental pitch plus harmonic overtones. This is known as the overtone series. It then describes just intonation, where notes are related by rational number ratios, but the tuning depends on the scale. Equal temperament is introduced as a system where each note is a constant ratio higher than the last, allowing all keys to use the same pitches but introducing small inaccuracies compared to just intonation.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    The Physics of Music

    Fundamental

    When a stringed instrument is plucked, the resulting


    sound is comprised of the pitch of the string (the
    fundamental) plus quieter harmonic vibrations of the
    string as shown in the example on the right. This is
    known as the overtone series.

    Freq. Hz Note
    132
    C

    Harmonic

    2
    3
    4
    5
    6

    264
    396
    528
    660
    792

    C2
    G
    C3
    E
    G

    One Octave Higher


    5th above C2
    Two octaves above fundamental
    3rd above C3
    5th above C3

    Just Tuning
    The Just Scale (sometimes referred to as harmonic tuning) occurs naturally as a result of the overtone series for simple
    systems such as vibrating strings. All the notes in the scale are related by rational numbers. Unfortunately, with Just
    tuning, the tuning depends on the scale you are using - the tuning for C Major is not the same as for D Major, for
    example.
    The steps of the scale are found by using these simple fractions of the root frequency:

    1st
    1

    2nd
    9/8

    3rd
    5/4

    4th
    4/3

    5th
    3/2

    6th
    5/3

    7th
    15/8

    octave
    2/1

    Here are the note frequencies using the formula above. Note the pitches in bold are in conflict with the same
    notes from other scales.

    C 264
    G 396
    D 297
    F 352

    D 297
    E 330
    F 352
    G 396
    A 445.5
    B 495
    C 528
    D 594
    E 334.1 F# 371.2 G 396
    A 445.5
    G 396
    A 440 Bb 469.3 C 528

    A 440
    B 495
    E 660 F# 742.5
    B 495 C# 556.9
    E 660
    D 586.7

    C 528
    G 792
    D 594
    F 704

    Equal Tempered Tuning


    For the equal tempered scale, the frequency of each succeeding note in the chromatic scale is calculated by multiplying
    the current note by the twelfth root of 2 (1.059463...). All keys use the same pitches.

    A
    Bb
    B
    C
    C#
    D
    D#
    E
    F
    F#
    G
    G#
    A

    220.00
    233.08
    246.94
    261.63
    277.18
    293.66
    311.13
    329.63
    349.23
    369.99
    392.00
    415.30
    440.00

    x 1.059 = 233.08 = Bb
    x 1.059 = 246.94 = B
    x 1.059 = 261.62 = C

    Notes of a G chord
    Just tuning:
    G
    B
    D

    x 1.059 = 277.18 = C#
    x 1.059 = 293.66 = D
    x 1.059 = 311.12 = D#

    196.00
    245.00
    294.00

    x 1.059 = 329.62 = E
    x 1.059 = 349.23 =

    x 1.059 = 369.99 = F#
    x 1.059 = 391.99 = G
    x 1.059 = 415.30 = G#
    x 1.059 = 440.00 = A

    Equal tempered tuning:


    G
    196.00
    B
    246.94
    D
    293.66
    1

    Out of tune by:


    1.94
    -0.34

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