I have found this discussion most interesting. Empirically (well known to
experts) pitch is lowered with distance even though theoretically
(simplistically, certainly) it should remain constant. I tried a simple
experiment to test this. I recorded myself playing an open C (third space,
or C'') on the F horn at close distance (about 2 meters) and in a different
room (about 8 meters from the recorder). I used a Zoom H2 with mic level
set to medium and record level of 100, recorded to wav format, then analyzed
the power spectrum in Audacity. The result is that the main spectral peak
for my C (concert F4, 353 Hz, according to Audacity) did not change, but
every higher overtone peak was about 5-10 cents flat. The relative
amplitude of these higher overtone peaks was not significantly changed even
though I thought I could hear a difference in tone between near and far
recordings. So, theoreticians, you are correct when referring to the
lowest, largest peak that defines the frequency of the note being played,
but you experts are also right when all of the overtones are taken into
consideration. It does seem that our perception of pitch is sensitive to
these.
Here are my results:
Overtone frequencies and amplitudes as reported in the Spectra window of
Audacity:
Near (2m): Far (8m): Difference: Cents:
F4 353 Hz 3.6dB 353Hz -16.9dB 0Hz 0
F5 707 Hz 5.3dB 704Hz -10.0dB -3Hz -7.4
C6 1061Hz -10.4dB 1057Hz -13.8dB -4Hz -6.5
F6 1415Hz -11.1dB 1408Hz -20.7dB -6Hz -8.6
A6 1765Hz -26.2dB 1760Hz -23.7dB -5Hz -4.9
C7 2122Hz -22.5dB 2116Hz -42.0dB -6Hz -4.9
D#7 2471Hz -35.5dB 2467Hz -41.5dB -4Hz -2.8
F7 2829Hz -29.5dB 2814Hz -48.7dB -15Hz -9.2
G7 3187Hz -41.1dB 3169Hz -41.1dB -18Hz -9.8
A7 3533Hz -45.8dB 3521Hz -46.3dB -12Hz -5.9
A#7 3895Hz -45.5dB 3874Hz -53.9dB -21Hz -9.0
C8 4250Hz -43.6dB 4228Hz -59.4dB -22Hz -9.0
D8 4597Hz -46.8dB 4580Hz -54.7dB -17Hz -6.4
D#8 4954Hz -55.0dB 4931Hz -59.4dB -23Hz -8.1
E8 5312Hz -61.0dB 5278Hz -64.3dB -35Hz -11.1
F8 5668Hz -59.8dB 5641Hz -69.9dB -27Hz -8.3
--
Jeffrey S. Barker
Assoc. Prof. of Geophysics, Binghamton University
Faculty Master, Dickinson Community
(607) 777-2522 (Geology) (607) 777-2826 (Dickinson)
http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~jbarker/
_______________________________________________
post: [email protected]
unsubscribe or set options at
https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
