Sound waves have a lot to do with the medium they travel through. They propagate at different speeds in different fluids. If you ever want to try something amusing on an old horn, take a vial of tetrafluoroethane (compressed air duster can) and squeeze a bit into your horn, then play. DO NOT INHALE THIS GAS. Breathe in well away from the instrument. You'll find a very amazing pitch change as the gas changes from tetrafluoroethane to 'air'. If you can find a helium tank, try it out. If you can afford a sulfur hexaflouride tank, also try it out. I've never done it, but from what I've heard it do to the human voice it could really give you a super low range ;) Just don't breathe those gases in without knowing the consequences - or how to get sulfur hexaflouride out of your lungs. -William In a message dated 4/21/2011 1:58:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
1. Because sound waves travel faster the hotter the air column is. 2. I have no first hand experience with horns, but from my trombone experiences I know, that an instrument made out of thin gauge red brass is much more sensitive to ambient temperature, especially during long rests, than instruments out of thicker gauge yellow brass. Thickness is a factor as is the heat conductivity of the alloy. The thin gauge instrument then also will raise in pitch much sooner with continuous playing. 3. With the tuning fork the length of the branches is a factor, so that a tuning fork theoretically would flatten when heated. When metal string guitarists, as in rock bands, are going for an indoor tune up for for an outdoor evening concert with fixed pitch electronic keyboards, then they tune slightly flat. With the lower outdoor temperatures the metal strings will shrink thereby raising the pitch. Klaus ________________________________ From: valerie wells <[email protected]> To: horn list 2 memphis <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, April 21, 2011 7:28:17 PM Subject: [Hornlist] Temperature & pitch I would be grateful to anyone who even attempts to answer the following questions for me. 1. Why does a warm horn play sharper than a cold horn? 2. Would different alloys effect how much the pitch changes with temperature? 3. And finally, does a tuning fork go a little sharp when it's warmed? Thanks. Valerie _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
