4 ms·

pitch is a function of frequency AND loudness

jay-anderson 9y ago
I think it's okay in a text like this to say frequency = pitch. Frequency is the primary factor in how we perceive pitch.
- HelloNurse 9y ago
  Since "frequency" has a straightforward definition and a straightforward unit of measure, "pitch" is a fancier word reserved for alternate units (e.g. MIDI note numbers) or slightly modified concepts (e.g. pitch classes, not frequency classes).
sizzzzlerz 9y ago
Consulting the online experts, I see pitch as being a function solely of frequency. Loudness is another attribute of what one hears. There might be some psychoacoustic magic going on that could cause one to interpret a single frequency to have a variable pitch based upon the amplitude of the sound but that's a artifact of the listener, not the sound. Look at it this way. If you stike middle A on a piano with different intensities and monitor the sound using a frequency analyzer, the analzyer will report a sound at approximately 440 Hz regardless of how soft or hard the key is struck.
deathanatos 9y ago
Sorry, as a musician, I've never heard pitch defined this way. Pitch is essentially another word for frequency (though perhaps used more commonly in the context of a musical instrument or a human voice, and most musical instruments emit harmonics, as described in the article, and are thus not a singular frequency). Merriam-Webster corroborates this: > the property of a sound and especially a musical tone that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it : highness or lowness of sound Wiktionary as well: > The perceived frequency of a sound or note. Oxford: > The quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.
- graycat 9y ago
  Usually for music, pitch is another term for the frequency of the fundamental tone. So, a sine wave at 440 Hz will seem to the ear to have the same pitch as the open A string on a violin or the first A above middle C on a piano, and the same for other frequencies, pitches, and musical instruments. E.g., we can tune a whole orchestra with just a single tuning fork for A4 at 440 Hz, and when the whole orchestra plays A it sounds good, that is, without beats from the fundamental frequencies of some of the instruments being a few Hz away from a whole number multiple or fraction of 440 Hz. However, IIRC, this simple relationship between frequency of the fundamental and pitch to the ear does not hold well for all possible periodic sounds.
- Maybestring 9y ago
  >The perceived frequency of a sound or note. I think the claim that pitch is a partial function of loudness is about perception. If pitch is defined as the 'percieved' frequency, then it includes whatever synthesis of sensory data the brain uses. The most obvious, is a comparison to concurrent or recently heard sounds. A b-flat preceeded by a c really does sound different than one preceeded by a g. (At least, it really does for me). Edit: But my understanding of pitch has also, always been pitch = frequency.
  - melq 9y ago
    Amplitude (loudness) has nothing to do with frequency, and changes in amplitude will not affect the frequency perceived. Pitch == frequency.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
woodson 9y ago
Pitch is the perceptual correlate of fundamental frequency. When you make acoustic measurements, you measure frequency, not pitch.
parenthesis 9y ago
This is correct. Although I would say amplitude or intensity, rather than loudness: for loudness itself is a function of intensity and frequency. At least for pure tones that aren't too high, most listeners perceive a pitch drop at higher intensities. Both in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America: S.S. Stevens, "The relation of pitch to intensity", Vol. 6, 1935, pp. 150-154. http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915715 http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915715 W.B. Snow, "Changes of pitch with loudness at low frequencies", Vol. 8, 1936, pp. 14-19. http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915846 http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915846
- JorgeGT 9y ago
  When you start seeing cycles or cps instead of Hz in the references you know you have reached the good stuff! x)

I think it's okay in a text like this to say frequency = pitch. Frequency is the primary factor in how we perceive pitch.

HelloNurse 9y ago
Since "frequency" has a straightforward definition and a straightforward unit of measure, "pitch" is a fancier word reserved for alternate units (e.g. MIDI note numbers) or slightly modified concepts (e.g. pitch classes, not frequency classes).

sizzzzlerz 9y ago

Consulting the online experts, I see pitch as being a function solely of frequency. Loudness is another attribute of what one hears. There might be some psychoacoustic magic going on that could cause one to interpret a single frequency to have a variable pitch based upon the amplitude of the sound but that's a artifact of the listener, not the sound. Look at it this way. If you stike middle A on a piano with different intensities and monitor the sound using a frequency analyzer, the analzyer will report a sound at approximately 440 Hz regardless of how soft or hard the key is struck.

deathanatos 9y ago

Sorry, as a musician, I've never heard pitch defined this way. Pitch is essentially another word for frequency (though perhaps used more commonly in the context of a musical instrument or a human voice, and most musical instruments emit harmonics, as described in the article, and are thus not a singular frequency). Merriam-Webster corroborates this: > the property of a sound and especially a musical tone that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it : highness or lowness of sound Wiktionary as well: > The perceived frequency of a sound or note. Oxford: > The quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

graycat 9y ago
Usually for music, pitch is another term for the frequency of the fundamental tone. So, a sine wave at 440 Hz will seem to the ear to have the same pitch as the open A string on a violin or the first A above middle C on a piano, and the same for other frequencies, pitches, and musical instruments. E.g., we can tune a whole orchestra with just a single tuning fork for A4 at 440 Hz, and when the whole orchestra plays A it sounds good, that is, without beats from the fundamental frequencies of some of the instruments being a few Hz away from a whole number multiple or fraction of 440 Hz. However, IIRC, this simple relationship between frequency of the fundamental and pitch to the ear does not hold well for all possible periodic sounds.
Maybestring 9y ago
>The perceived frequency of a sound or note. I think the claim that pitch is a partial function of loudness is about perception. If pitch is defined as the 'percieved' frequency, then it includes whatever synthesis of sensory data the brain uses. The most obvious, is a comparison to concurrent or recently heard sounds. A b-flat preceeded by a c really does sound different than one preceeded by a g. (At least, it really does for me). Edit: But my understanding of pitch has also, always been pitch = frequency.
- melq 9y ago
  Amplitude (loudness) has nothing to do with frequency, and changes in amplitude will not affect the frequency perceived. Pitch == frequency.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

woodson 9y ago

Pitch is the perceptual correlate of fundamental frequency. When you make acoustic measurements, you measure frequency, not pitch.

parenthesis 9y ago

This is correct. Although I would say amplitude or intensity, rather than loudness: for loudness itself is a function of intensity and frequency. At least for pure tones that aren't too high, most listeners perceive a pitch drop at higher intensities. Both in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America: S.S. Stevens, "The relation of pitch to intensity", Vol. 6, 1935, pp. 150-154. http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915715 http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915715 W.B. Snow, "Changes of pitch with loudness at low frequencies", Vol. 8, 1936, pp. 14-19. http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915846 http://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.1915846

JorgeGT 9y ago
When you start seeing cycles or cps instead of Hz in the references you know you have reached the good stuff! x)