Note names of musical notes keyboard piano frequencies = octave piano keys number tone tones 88 notes frequency names of all keys on a grand piano standard concert pitch tuning German English system MIDI 88 - sengpielaudio Sengpiel Berlin In the twelve-semitone scale the frequency of the next semitone (halftone) is higher by the factor of twelfth root of two = 1.0594630943592952645618252949463 or lower by the factor 0.94387431268169349664191315666757. A sound engineer should know the following: The AC hum of 50 Hz in Europe is close to the pitch of G1 = 48.99 Hz (49 Hz). The AC hum of 60 Hz in the U.S. is a minor third higher close to the pitch of A 1/B 1 = 58.27 Hz (58 Hz).

So you can find out logically, whether a sound recording was made in Europe or in the U.S. A pure tone with the frequency f = 440 Hz has the amplitude function: A = sin (880 π×t) - where t is given in seconds. The following equation will give the frequency f of the nth piano key number, as shown in the table: Alternatively, this can be written as: "Middle C" is in any case only approximately in the middle for the modern concert piano. For most other instruments it is not in the middle at all. It is is the lowest note on the standard flute, almost the highest note on the bassoon. Notationally it is the point of symmetry between the treble and bass staffs (the current position of the clefs being relatively modern inventions, and relative to modern human vocal ranges); that is the only other sense in which it is "in the middle". Notes and keyboard The concert pitch A4 = a’ on the piano lies in the octave between C4 = c’ (middle C) and C5= c’’. The middle C note as octave C4 and the next octave C5.

"Middle C" is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation with a frequency of 261.6 Hz, because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88 key piano keyboard. Some manufacturers label the 440 Hz concert pitch not correctly as A3. It is really A4. Cubase, Akai, and ProTools are starting differently at octave −2, or octave 1. That's not the standard. The first tone is the note A0 and that is 27.5 Hz. The classical music world is counting this way. The tuning pitch for the Western music (concert pitch), is 440 Hz. It is named A4 or a’. Formula for finding a MIDI note number given the frequency in Hz of the MIDI note: n = (12 × log2 (f / 440)) + 69 Given the frequency f for a note in Hz, it is possible to find the corresponding MIDI note number represented by the variable n. One version of the MIDI system uses C3 to designate Middle C (MIDI note 60 = 261.626 Hz).

That means that the octave designation for MIDI note "0" would be "-2" or notated as C-2. Another version of the MIDI system uses the lowest note available to the MIDI system. MIDI note 1 = 8.176 Hz to designate Octave "0" with the notation of C0. "Middle C" is the MIDI note 60 = 261.626 Hz. That is octave 4 with the notation of C4. MIDI Notes and their corresponding frequencies The frequency 261.626 Hz = C4 (middle C), and not C5 or C3, how some firms try to explain us; look at: Piano notes and keys - 88 key piano Highly Recommended: Click here for the BEST piano/keyboard course I’ve come across online. Take a look at the unlabelled piano keyboard above. Do you see the pattern of the black keys? If you look closely, you will notice that they follow a pattern of twos and threes. Two black keys followed by three black keys, followed by two black keys, followed by three black keys and so on. The first note we shall find is the note, C.

C is the note that comes right before the set of two black keys. There are quite a few C notes. Every note that comes before a set of two black keys is called C. Move eight steps up from one C and you get another C. This is called an octave. Watch Corresponding Video: How do you find middle C on the 88 key piano? Simply sit at the center of your piano. The C which is below your chin is called middle C . Middle C is also the note halfway between the bass clef (left hand) and the treble clef (right hand). Piano notes are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet. When learning to play the piano the first note that is normally learned is C. After you have found the note C, it is very easy to learn the other notes. Let’s learn all the notes of the white keys on the 88 key piano. After you have found the note C, move to the next key. That note is called D. The one after it is called E. You just keep going in alphabetical order to F, and G. Then the next note is A. What we have done is go back to the start of the alphabet.

Finally we move to B. You can continue going to C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G and so on. You get the point. C-D-E-F-G-A-B are called naturals. How about the black keys? What are their names? They are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet as well except for the fact that they can be either sharp or flat. The black keys can be called accidentals. Simply put, sharp means to go higher or to move to the right on your keyboard. Flat means to go lower or to move to the left on your keyboard. So what is the key immediately to the right of C called? The answer is C sharp (C#). This key can also be called D flat (Db) because it is one key to the left of D. The next black key is called D sharp (D#) or E flat (Eb). Then we move to F sharp (F#) or G flat (Gb), G sharp (G#) or A flat (Ab) and lastly A sharp (A#) or B flat (Bb). As is the case with the white piano notes, the pattern keeps repeating.

After B flat (Bb), the next black key is C sharp (D flat), D sharp (E flat) and so on. I wrote this amazing book that will teach you how to play. Click here to get your copy at a discounted price. What we’ve talked about above is really a simplified approach to looking at piano notes. In reality piano notes and piano keys are not the same. Each key of the piano can represent several notes. Strictly speaking piano keys don’t really have names. Keys aren’t actually called C, D, E, F, G, etc. They just play those notes. The same keys play other notes as well. This is important to understand especially when one is learning to read music. Piano notes The piano diagram below shows the various piano notes that piano keys usually correspond to. Earlier, we saw that a piano key has more than one note name. For example D flat can be called C sharp. When keys go by more than one name, the notes are called enharmonic equivalents. So D flat and C sharp are enharmonic equivalents. The same can be said of D sharp and E flat. They are the same key on the piano keyboard but can have different note names depending on the key signature.

Even white keys have enharmonic equivalents. The note C can also be called B sharp (B#) since it is one half step higher than B. The note F can also be called E sharp (E#) since it is one half step higher than E. E can be called F flat (Fb) since it is one half step lower than F. Learn more about half steps, whole steps, tones, semitones, sharps and flats here. Sometimes a piano note can be called a double flat or double sharp, or even a triple sharp or flat. For instance, D is two semitones lower than E and can be called E double flat (Ebb). But this is not as common. Here’s a diagram of a piano keyboard, showing enharmonics. The sign which looks like the letter “x” is a double sharp sign . The sign which looks like two flat signs side-by-side is a double flat . Picture: Full 88 key piano keyboard diagram On an 88 key piano, the lowest key (first note) is an A. There are 8 Cs. The last note is C. There are 52 white and 36 black keys.

Here’s an image of piano notes on an 88 key piano. Click here for a picture of an 88 key piano keyboard layout. Piano Notes Chart piano - What is the Standard Frequency Response for Electric Keyboard? - Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange What is the Standard Frequency Response for Electric Keyboard? up vote 1 down vote favorite I'm having a difficulty in choosing a right Keyboard Amp. I have experiences with some of the leading brands of Keyboard Amp like Roland and Laney, but they are really expensive and the sound is not really good for my opinion. That is because I have a long experience of connecting my keyboard directly to the Mixer with the use of DI Box, and the sound that I was looking for was perfect. I also tried connecting it to a vocal monitor and it was also perfect. So I'm thinking a shift from keyboard amp to a vocal monitor. I started from learning the technical specs and one of it is to get the best range of frequency response of an electric keyboard and match it to the vocal monitor. The Frequency of an Acoustic Piano is 27Hz to 4.2KHz, is this the same for an electric Piano?

1 4.2 kHz is only the fundamental frequency of the highest note on the piano keyboard. You cannot reproduce the full sound quality of a piano with a sound system whose frequency response drops off sharply after 4.2 kHz. It would sound somewhat like you're hearing it over a telephone. – Kaz Jun 24 '13 at 18:38 up vote 6 down vote accepted A keyboard amp is a small PA system. It aims to give an even frequency response, without distortion, across the full range of human hearing, or as close as it can get within cost and size constraints. In ideal conditions, humans can hear from 12Hz to 20Hz -- although adults lose their sensitivity to the highest frequencies. The lowest piano key, A0, is 27 Hz, so to reproduce it accurately you'll need an amp and speakers which handle that frequency. However, note that even bass guitar amps typically only target 31Hz (the lowest note on a five-string). The main audible part of a piano note that low, is in the harmonics.

Although the root frequency of the highest piano key, C8, is 4.2KHz, it has harmonics that go beyond the range of human hearing. Typical PA amps handle 10KHz or so. Without that range, you lose the character of high notes (if you still have hearing in that range). Higher is better, up to a point - 20KHz is higher than you'd ever need (unless you're performing for dogs). Practically speaking, the speaker you can fit in a small cabinet won't be able to manage loud bass at the bottom of the piano's range - if you want loud bass, you need a big cabinet. For the highs you need a cabinet with a tweeter. Think about your playing style, and whether you actually use the top and bottom ends of the keyboard much. That's the first/only time I've seen 12hz at the bottom end, I do ascribe to extending bass response lower than the 20Hz threshold of human hearing, purely because hard analogue filtering right at 20Hz will cause phase discrepancies in higher (audible) ranges.

So while I design equipment to go down to 12Hz, it's not to hear 12Hz (you can watch the sub-woofer cone move in and out if you want to though, it's pretty cool); it's so that the 20Hz I can hear sounds tight and clean. There's a lot of confusion about this out there, note that frequency numbers without references are the -3dB points. – David Axtell Moore II Jun 24 '13 at 8:58 12Hz is from Wikipedia, and is the lowest a human can hear in lab conditions - not a target for music. The early 90s electronic act LFO used to duplicate mid-range parts at sub-audible levels, so that you could "feel it thump you in the chest". Clearly the kind of keyboard amp we're talking about here will never do that. – slim Jun 24 '13 at 9:03 1 The generally accepted standard range of audible frequencies is 20 to 20,000 Hz, although the range of frequencies individuals hear is greatly influenced by environmental factors.

Frequencies below 20 Hz are generally felt rather than heard, assuming the amplitude of the vibration is great enough. Wiki , I've played around with oscillators, and been in the room with large pipe organs as well, at a certain point (right around 20Hz) it just becomes an odd "clicking" noise as the voice coil moves, or a physical vibration (pipe organ), I've tried. – David Axtell Moore II Jun 24 '13 at 9:18 One of the coolest things I've ever recorded was a Theremin played down to below 20Hz and then a slow rise back up again, you could clearly hear the shift out of range and watch the voice coil move in/out, really cool sounding, but unless you're referring to inaudible physical vibrations, there just isn't below around 20Hz, I like having the frequency range down there... like I said 20Hz sounds better if the equipment can extend, as I mentioned, if the specs say 20Hz-20KHz, it means the response is down 3dB at those points already, if you cut it off with a cap, you introduce phase anomalies.

– David Axtell Moore II Jun 24 '13 at 9:26 But you're right, a keyboard amp will never cut it, but that's the basic gist of his question (and your answer); if he's looking for a great keyboard sound, he needs to move up to using a full-range P.A. system to get the performance he needs. Of course it's costlier, more pieces of gear, more to move, more to break, but that's just the way it is with just about anything right? Imagine he had to move a 9' grand around with him every time he played out, it's all a cost vs. performance ratio. – David Axtell Moore II Jun 24 '13 at 9:32 The Piano The Piano This baby grand is one of several configurations of the piano. The piano has 88 keys which span the frequency range 27.5 Hz (A0) to 4186 Hz (C8). The strings are sounded by hammer mechanisms which are activated by the keys. The relatively soft hammer structure, fashioned from pressurized wool, gives a dramatic attack to the tone without sounding harsh.

Go Back The Piano The piano has 88 keys which span the frequency range 27.5 Hz (A0) to 4186 Hz (C8). The strings are sounded by hammer mechanisms which are activated by the keys. Held in a heavy cast iron frame, the strings pass over a bridge to a pin block by which the strings are tuned. The soundboard is a crucial element in the sound of the piano. Energy is coupled from the strings into the soundboard and from it into the air. The soundboard is usually made of spruce. Three pedals afford the player some control over the sound of the instrument. The left pedal is the "soft pedal" or una corda. It shifts the keyboard beneath the strings so that the hammers strike fewer strings, giving a softer sound. The center pedal is the sustain or sustenuto pedal which disengages the dampers. The right pedal is the damper pedal to dampen the whole keyboard. Some grand pianos have on the order of 7000 parts! Their function can be described in terms of six features: the keyboard, the hammers, the dampers, the bridge, the soundboard, and the strings.

There are 52 white keys and 36 black keys (for the chromatic notes), bridging seven and a third octaves with 12 equal semitones per octave. The piano is the standard instrument for the equal tempered scale, yet both the high end and low end of the instrument are tuned so that they depart slightly from equal temperament because the sound has been judged to be more pleasing with that arrangement (see "stretched" tuning discussion below). Depressing a key on the piano engages a complex mechanism called the "action" of the piano which causes the hammer to strike the string. Actually, the hammers are in sets for the keys which sound two or three strings. The striking point is about 1/7th of the way along the string to discriminate against the 7th harmonic resonance, which is significantly out of tune with the equal tempered scale. This "7th harmonic problem" can be illustrated by examining the musical intervals formed by a an exact harmonic sequence . The grand piano has about 230 strings for the 88 keys. Generally, the ten lowest pitches have one wirewound string. The next 18 pitches have two, and the last 60 have three strings each.

In the modern piano, the strings are mounted on a cast iron frame to provide the strength to main the required tension in all of these strings (about 30 tons for a grand). Working out combinations of lengths, masses and tensions for these strings within a compact instrument is a formidable problem. In order to maintain comparable tensions in the strings without inconvenient size for the instrument, the length is not halved with each octave but a ratio between 1.88 and 1.94:1 is used. The string mass is varied to constrain the frequencies to their proper values. For the lower pitches, the steel wire is wound with copper or brass, which adds mass without producing excessive stiffness. Even with the windings of soft metal, the increased stiffness of the lower strings makes them depart from the "ideal string" necessary to produce exact harmonics. As you increase in harmonic number, the frequencies are increasingly sharp. This has led to the practice of tuning the lower strings of the piano up to about 30 cents flat, since that puts the upper harmonics more in tune with the midrange notes of the piano.

This makes the piano sound better to most ears, partially because the low end of the piano at 27.5 Hz is in a frequency range where your hearing has dropped off considerably, so that the upper harmonics of these low strings are probably heard more prominently than the fundamental. The extreme upper end of the piano is tuned up to 30 cents sharp in a practice that is called "stretched" tuning. Go Back Some History of the Piano Harpsichord maker Bartholomeo Cristofori created the first version of the piano in 1709 by replacing the crow quills of the harpsichord with leather-covered wooden hammers. In addition to a richer tone quality, the hammers allowed for a large dymamic range that was subject to the sensitivity of the player's touch. The instrument was given the imposing name "gravecembalo col piano e forte", meaning "harpsichord with soft and loud". This was soon shortened to "pianoforte" and then finally to just "piano". So the final name emphasizes the possibility of a soft touch, although the piano is also capable of "forte". We have few pianos from the early era because they had wooden frames for the strings.

Some authors attribute the demise of the early pianos to the gradually rising pitch standard. The wooden frames could not stand the increase in tension necessary for tuning upward to the new standards. Since the introduction of iron frames into the construction of the piano in 1820, the design of the instrument has changed very little. Piano Finders: Key Numbering Systems Click Here for Printer Friendly Version When children (or adults) start out learning the names and locations of the notes on the piano, they usually start with middle C and its immediate neighbors (that C being the most convenient one, directly in front of the player and usually very close to, or underneath, the nameplate of the piano near the middle of the keyboard. If the name is short, like on our fabulous Steinbald piano example below, middle C may actually be slightly to the left of the name. ) Click Here to see larger versions As beginning piano students gradually work their way up and down from this reference point, they also get to know the keys towards the extremes of the keyboard. But still, both children and adults often confuse the C's above and below for middle C.

They also frequently get mixed up about which octave A, D, F, G, E or B they should be playing. Even piano tuners sometimes get lost. It should be easy enough to remember that Middle C is right next to or under the piano name, but lots of folks still forget. Many times, too, pianos get refinished, and the name doesn't always get put back on the fallboard; or else it gets rubbed off after many years of playing. In one system that has been around since anyone can remember, the notes are numbered according to the octave in which they lie, and each new octave starts with C (not A as you might expect). (Figure 1, below. Please excuse that I wasn"t able to fit the full keyboard on the page. Hopefully you will be able to fill in the remaining (upper) part of the keyboard yourself.) Thus, the first C at the far left of the keyboard is C-1, the next C an octave up is C-2, then C-3, C-4, C-5 etc on up to C-8 at the top of the keyboard.

Because each octave begins on C, the notes to the left of (or below) C-1 are labeled A-0 (A-zero), A#-0, and B-0 (here we run again into that same problem common in music, not starting with "A" in the first place). Although confusing, this system has been used for many years, and many musicians and piano tuners still use it today. In this system, middle C on the keyboard is C-4. This "C/octave numbering" system was probably instituted at a time long ago when keyboards had fewer keys and started at C-1, before the last three notes were added at the bottom of the keyboard. There are numerous reasons why there have been so many key numbering or labeling systems throughout history. Part of the problem stems from the fact that the piano keyboard has not always had 88 keys. As a matter of fact, since the time of its invention the piano keyboard has started and ended on a number of different keys. Early pianos had "short" keyboards, with only four to six octaves, just like most organs and electronic keyboards still do today.

(Except at the time they were not considered short.) Keys at each end of the keyboard that we take for granted on the modern piano did not even exist yet on many early pianos. As the compass of the keyboard has expanded at both ends, new systems had to be evolved; and because people are reluctant to give up what they have spent time learning, many of the older systems still persist in one form or another. Currently there does not seem to be any universally accepted system that accommodates both long and short keyboards. In attempting to find a system that can accommodate future expansion of the keyboard, it"s important to recognize the principle that the piano keyboard really "started in the middle and grew outward". Piano makers added keys at each end of the piano keyboard as composers and musicians demanded more range. Based on this, some key labeling systems try to do the same, and work their way outward from the middle; from the familiar, to the less familiar. (This is probably another reason why we still have ledger lines for the highest and lowest notes, and why people still have trouble learning or reading them.) Singers and instrumentalists often have their own unique systems for what to call the notes.

A singer might refer to the 6(th) C (C-6 according to the above system) as "high C". But then, if high C is two octaves above Middle C, what do you call the C one octave above? Which is low C? You can "C" why this is also confusing, especially to non-singers. Some musicians try to get by, by relating everything to middle C. (As in: "Play the G an octave below middle C, please.") However, having to refer everything to middle C is cumbersome at best: some notes at the far ends of the keyboard are a long ways from Middle C and, just like with driving in a strange city, you can get lost trying to follow directions. Some instrumentalists and singers are not familiar with keyboards, so to them, Middle C might not have much significance. Using middle C as a reference point might, however, be one way to communicate if you frequently work with keyboard musicians who use keyboards or synths that have only 61 or 76 notes, but who do know where Middle C is. A second system, used currently by piano tuners, numbers the keys on the piano from 1 to 88.

(See Figure 2) Hence A-1 is at the bottom of the keyboard, and C-88 at the top. This works well for 88-key pianos, but as we said, many keyboards on organs, synthesizers, and electronic pianos are shorter than 88 keys, so unless one remembers that Middle C is C-40, and unless one can count both downwards and upwards from C easily, this system becomes confusing as well. This second system was really only adopted when pianos began being standardized at 88 keys. In the diagram you will see that each note on the keyboard has a number from 1 to 88, counting up from the left (or bottom end) of the keyboard, and including the black keys. Click Here to see larger versions There is a third system that was or is evidently used in the British Isles, described in David Crombie"s landmark book "Piano" (1995, Miller/Freeman, San Francisco) as the "standard reference system." This system actually does start in the middle, with Middle C as c(1), and, just as in the first system described above, each new octave begins on c.

The octaves above middle C become c(2), c(3), c(4) and, at the top of the 88 note keyboard, c(5). The notes below c(1) do not have numbers associated with them, but are differentiated by either being lower case (a, b, or c), upper case (A, B, C) or double (AA, BB, CC) or triple (AAA, BBB) upper case. See Figure 3. This is somewhat similar to a system used in the Encyclopedia Britannica (1981) in their section on Keyboard Instruments, the difference being that the Britannica labels the C"s, starting with Middle C and going upwards, as c', c'', c''', c'''', and c''''' at the very top. From Middle C downward, according to Brittanica, is c", c, C(1), C(2), which bears some resemblance to the system in Crombie"s book as well (c(1), c, C, CC). However, Brittanica then proceeds to muddy up the waters again by saying that the note at the bottom of the keyboard is A2, as opposed to AAA in Crombie.

In addition, Brittanica feels the need to use the terms high C and low C to further explain what they mean. In their system, high C is two octaves above Middle C and low C an octave below. But that still leaves us in suspense: what to call that elusive C an octave above Middle C? Note that, even in these two systems, C1(c(1)) and C2 (c(2)) mean different things. To add more fuel to the controversy, another source I consulted, on Introductory Music, calls the c an octave above Middle C "high C". Thus we have at least two different c"s, one two octaves and the other one octave above Middle C both being referred to as "high". With the advent of MIDI, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface designed to hook electronic and acoustic pianos, synthesizers, samplers, and other types of keyboards together, there is still another system (Figure 4). The MIDI system specifies Middle C as note # 60, and then works downward and upward from there.

In the MIDI specification, as a result of binary language (7-bit words, or 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2), there are 128 notes possible, so it was evidentally decided to extend the range far above and below that of the standard 88 key keyboard. This will, no doubt, bring yet one more element of confusion to the problems of what to call the keys on the piano. Top 10 Uncommon Orchestral Instruments - Listverse Top 10 Uncommon Orchestral Instruments dangorironhide December 9, 2007 The standard orchestra that most of see these days consists of four sections: strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion. In each of these we have standard instruments, approximately four different instruments per section (not counting percussion). Not all composers, however, choose to limit themselves to these instruments, and add in extra instruments not usually seen in the standard orchestra. Here are listed ten instruments you would not usually see in an orchestra. In no particular order: 10.

Organ The pipe organ is one of the world’s oldest wind instruments, with examples found as far back as the 3rd century BC, in ancient Greece. The organs back then would have looked a lot different than the ones we are used to seeing, with water power supplying the air pressure required to push air through the pipes. Modern pipe organs are a lot more complicated than this, with multiple keyboards (including one played by the feet) and rows of stops. The video shows one of the most well known, and impressive pieces of solo organ music: J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. 9. Baritone/Euphonium I‘ve lumped these two instruments together because a baritone is, to the casual observer, essentially a small euphonium. The euphonium is best known for being the ‘small tuba’ in a wind or marching band, though it’s range is a lot higher than a tuba. It is very rare to see a baritone or euphonium in an orchestra, as they are usually found in big bands or marching bands.

The video shows a euphoniums duet, playing a tune called ‘Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms’, which is based on a poem by Thomas Moore. 8. Saxophone The saxophone, apart from maybe one other, is probably the most well known of all the instruments on this list. It is a single reed instrument, similar to the clarinet. It is best known as a jazz instrument, although it has surfaced in some pop songs, most notably in the famous solo in Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’, which is the song in the video. The saxophone has only appeared in orchestras relatively recently, only starting to appear in late romantic and early 20th century music. The saxophone has been popularised in recent years thanks to the character Lisa Simpson, whose ‘sax-a-ma-phone’ has brought the instrument to even more people. 7. Piano Well, what is there to say about the piano? Apart from maybe the guitar, it is probably the most well known instrument in the world. The piano is mainly used as an accompaniment to soloists, though there are many thousands of pieces written for solo piano.

In an orchestral environment, pianos are mostly used as solo instruments, in concertos and other similar pieces. There is so much piano music out there to choose from, for this list I decided to pick a personal favourite, a beautiful duet written by Danny Elfman for Tim Burton’s ‘The Corpse Bride’. 6. Celesta The celesta is a keyboard instrument, similar to a piano, but instead of having hammers hitting strings, the hammers in it hit metal tubes suspended over wooden resonators. It was invented in the late 1880s in Paris. The first major user of the celesta was Tchaikovsky, who most famously used it in the ‘Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies’, from the ballet ‘The Nutcracker’. Unfortunately I could not find any good performance videos of the celesta, but this one shows the basic sound of one. 5. Harp The harp has been one of the most common instruments in history, with use of the different styles found all over the world. The most basic harp would have simply been a bow used for hunting, played by plucking the string.

The type of harp most used in modern classical music is the pedal harp, which can have up to 47 strings, spanning six and a half octaves, and is an impressive 6ft high. Pedal harps usually have seven pedals, one for each natural note of the scale, and these can be put into one of three positions. The first position, with the pedal up, flattens the note by a semitone. The second position, in the middle, keeps the note at its natural tone, and the third position sharpens the note by a semitone. The video shows an incredibly talented 8-year-old playing part of Bach’s “Concert for harp” 4. Cor Anglais The Cor Anglais is probably the most common of these ‘unusual’ instruments, usually being played by an oboist. It is longer than an oboe, pitched a 5th lower, and has a pear shaped bell at the end. Unlike the oboe, which has a reed set straight into the instrument, the cor anglais has a bent crook to attach the reed on to. The name literally means ‘English horn’, though the cor anglais is neither English nor a horn.

The wikipedia entry has more details on the naming for those interested. The video shows a cor player playing ‘The Swan’ from Saint-Saens’ ‘Carnival of the Animals’ 3. Alto Flute The alto flute is, in basic terms, a long flute. Much like the piccolo, it is used to augment the flute section and add a deeper tone. Unlike the piccolo however, which is pitched an octave higher, the alto flute is pitched at 4th below a normal flute. There are two designs for an alto flute. The first, favoured by smaller players, has the neck bending back on itself, so the fingers are closer to the player, and so easier to reach. The second, and more common, design is simply a longer flute. The video shows an arrangement of Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’ for 3 alto flutes and a harpsichord (keyboard). 2. Bass Clarinet The bass clarinet is a much longer version of the standard Bb clarinet, with a curved mouthpiece and bell more resembling a long saxophone. It is pitched an octave lower than a Bb clarinet, and has a much deeper tone.

The bass clarinet was invented in the late 1700s, with different forbearers of the instrument we know now being created in Germany and France. The bass clarinet as we know it now was finalised by Adolph Sax in 1838, who, in the following decade, invented another instrument on this list (see if you can guess which one!). The video, from 1961, shows Eric Dolphy playing ‘God Bless This Child’ on a solo bass clarinet. 1. Contrabassoon Being a bassoon/contrabassoon player myself, this is my personal favourite on this list. The contrabassoon is almost twice as long as a standard bassoon, which comes to almost 16ft of tubes! It is pitched a whole octave lower than a standard bassoon, which, to put it in context, is a semitone higher than the lowest note on the piano. It is usually supported by a spike at the bottom, similar to a contrabass or cello, rather than a seat strap or sling. It takes a hell of a lot more breath to play than a bassoon, and the lowest note can make the room you’re in shake!

The video shows the ‘Super Mario Bassoon Quartet’ playing an arrangement of their piece with a contrabassoon as well. Bonus: Harmonica After seeing this clip at the BBC proms this year, I knew I’d have to include it in this list. This is the only piece of music I’ve seen with a harmonica playing with an orchestra, so enjoy! I can’t remember what the piece of music is, but I do know it is a piece of film music by a British composer. So here it is, my first list! Any comment and (constructive) criticisms are welcomed. For any of you wondering, I didn’t include the piccolo on the list as pretty much all of the larger orchestral pieces I’ve played (and many of the smaller ones) have included it. Notable Omissions: Electric Guitar, drumkit Contributor: dangorironhide Why Do Pianos Have 88 Keys? | Wonderopolis Wonder of the Day #1142 Why Do Pianos Have 88 Keys? Why do pianos have 88 keys? What's the difference between the black and the white keys on a piano? How many of each color key are there on a piano?

Tags: Listen Have you ever played a real piano ? If so, you know how fun it can be to start at one end of the keyboard and run your finger all the way to the opposite end, playing all of the notes in the process. Unlike xylophones, which have up to 40 keys, or most woodwind instruments, which have a limited number of keys, pianos have a whopping 88 keys. Each key represents a different note , giving the piano a wide range of sounds . Have you ever WONDERed why the piano has 88 keys, though? Why not 44? Or 212? Why 88? The answer, as it turns out, has both historical and practical aspects. The piano got its start as a modification of the harpsichord , which had 60 keys. The first pianos, therefore, usually had 60 keys. 60 keys represented five octaves, since there are 12 notes in an octave . As more and more pianos were made, composers began to write more music for the piano . It wasn't long before their compositions took them beyond the five octaves available on pianos at that time.

Composers began to work with piano makers to create pianos with more keys, so that they could write new music with a wider range. Over the course of the history of the piano , you can find many different versions of pianos with many different numbers of keys. By the mid-1800s, pianos had expanded to a full seven octaves. In the late 1880s, popular piano manufacturer Steinway created the 88- key piano that is the standard today. Other manufacturers followed Steinway's lead and 88 keys has been the standard ever since. The 88- key piano features a full seven octaves, plus a few other notes. Why stop at 88 keys? Most composers don't write music that includes notes beyond those available on the 88- key piano . Plus, notes lower or higher than those on the 88- key piano aren't easy for the human ear to hear as distinct notes beyond those that already exist. Today's modern piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys. The white keys represent the musical tones A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

The black keys differ from the white keys in that they represent half-step intervals — known as sharps and flats — between various notes. A group of seven white keys and five black keys together make up the 12 notes we call an octave . As artists tend to do, there are piano makers out there today who are still pushing the boundaries of the piano 's capabilities. Stuart and Sons, an Australian piano manufacturer, now makes a “super" grand piano that features 102 keys, 14 more than the norm. Could pianos be made with even more keys? The answer is yes, but there are many considerations that weigh against pianos with even more keys. In addition to the fact that the human ear can't distinguish many of these added notes, pianos with more keys tend to be longer and heavier than normal pianos — and more expensive. For example, a 102- key Stuart and Sons piano can cost as much as $300,000! Wonder Words (18) Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day is filled with the sounds of jazz! Try It Out Whew! Counting all the keys on a piano can take a few moments.

Can we count on you to keep counting along with us as you try out one or more of the following activities with a friend or family member? Do you have a piano at home? If you don't, chances are that you might know someone who owns a piano. Many schools also have pianos in their music rooms. Your mission today, should you choose to accept it, is to find a piano and spend some time with it. Count the keys. Experiment with the low sounds and the high sounds. If you know a simple song, try to play it. If you can get help from a music teacher or someone who knows how to play the piano, ask them to take you on a tour of the piano. What does it look like inside? Can you see the hammers striking the strings when a key is pressed? Maybe you can even learn a simple song! Feeling crafty? It would be extremely hard for you to make your own piano at home. Pianos are large, complex instruments that usually take many talented artisans a long time to make. They can cost thousands of dollars, too. If you're musically inclined, though, you can Make Your Own Musical Instruments !

Simple follow the given directions to make a variety of homemade musical instruments, including bottle flutes, comb clarinets, straw oboes, rubber band guitars, and maracas! Up for a challenge? Jump online and read through Where Math Meets Music . You'll learn about the mathematics behind the music and why certain notes sound great together…and why others do not. Have fun learning more about how music and math mix! Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can You Go? Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can You Go? Short (2-5 days) Prerequisites To do this science fair project, you will need to know which key is Middle C on your piano or keyboard, have a friend or family member show you which key is Middle C, or use a piano that has Middle C labeled. See the Experimental Procedure tab for more details. Material Availability This science fair project requires access to a piano, keyboard, or virtual piano (available online). See the Materials tab for details. Cost No issues Abstract What is the highest note you can sing? How about the lowest? Do you think males and females can reach the same notes? How about children and adults?

Find out the answers to all these questions in this "note"-worthy science fair project! Objective Compare the vocal ranges of people to determine if puberty and gender affect vocal range. Credits Sandra Slutz, PhD, Science Buddies Cite This Page MLA Style Science Buddies Staff. "Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can You Go?" Science Buddies. Science Buddies, 4 Dec. 2014. Web. 31 Dec. 2016 < APA Style Science Buddies Staff. (2014, December 4). Comparing Vocal Ranges: How High and Low Can You Go?. Retrieved December 31, 2016 from Share your story with Science Buddies! I Did This Project! Please log in and let us know how things went. Last edit date: 2014-12-04 Introduction Have you ever started singing a song, and then realized a little way into the melody that the notes were either too high or too low for you to sing? If so, the song was outside of your vocal range. A person's vocal range is the lowest and highest notes (along with all the notes in between) that a person can comfortably sing.

To understand what might determine a person's vocal range, it is important to first understand what is happening when a person sings. First, the air is expelled (breathed out) from the lungs. It is carried out of the body through a tube called the trachea, which is part of the throat. On its route through the trachea and out of the mouth, the air passes through the larynx, often also called the voice box. The larynx contains folds of tissue, called the vocal cords. The vocal cords vibrate as air passes through them, and this vibration creates sound. If you place your fingers at the base of your throat and sing or talk, you might be able to faintly feel these vibrations. Figure 1. In this diagram you can see the path that air travels during singing. The air is pushed out of the lungs, up through the trachea, over the larynx and vocal chords, and then out through the mouth. The pitch of the sound a person makes is determined by several factors, including the size and tension of the vocal cords, and how fast they vibrate. By changing some of these factors, people can produce different pitches, which means they can sing a variety of notes.

But one thing a person can not control is the length of his or her vocal cords. Vocal cord size is similar in young males and females. As children go through puberty, however, their vocal cords grow longer. By the time they are adults, most females have vocal cords that are between 12.5 millimeters (mm) and 17.5 mm long; adult males usually have longer vocal cords, between 17 mm and 25 mm in length (Titze, 2008). Do you think the difference in vocal cord length between adults and children, and between people of different genders, might affect the vocal range of each group of people? You can find out the answer in this science fair project by comparing the vocal ranges of four different groups of people: male adults, female adults, male children, and female children. Since puberty is a period of time when a person's vocal range may be changing, you will need to make sure all the people you examine in this science fair project are either done with puberty, or have not entered puberty yet. For this reason, only gather data from children age 9 or younger, and adults age 21 or older. Who has the highest vocal range?

How about the lowest? Get ready to take "note" of the answer! Terms and Concepts How do people produce sounds when they sing? Why do musicians need to know their vocal range? Bibliography For more information about vocal range, try these websites: Wikipedia Contributors. (2008, November 10). Vocal range. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from Vocalist.org.uk. (2008). Vocal Range—Finding Your Keys! Retrieved November 10, 2008, from For more information about Middle C and other notes on the piano, try these websites: Wikipedia Contributors. (2008, November 12). Middle C. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from Bean, K.R. (n.d.). Where's Middle C, and Why Do I Need to Know? or Finding Your Way Around the Keyboard. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from These resources provide good information about the biology of singing: Titze, I.R. (2008). The human instrument.

Scientific American, 298 (1):94-101. Kidshealth.org. (2007). Your Changing Voice. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from This webpage has a virtual keyboard that you could use to do this science project: Play classic piano online. (n.d.). Piano Keyboard Fun for All! Retrieved November 13, 2014, from For help creating graphs, try this website: National Center for Education Statistics, (n.d.). Create a Graph. Retrieved June 2, 2009, from News Feed on This Topic , , Note: A computerized matching algorithm suggests the above articles. It's not as smart as you are, and it may occasionally give humorous, ridiculous, or even annoying results! Learn more about the News Feed Materials and Equipment Piano or keyboard; if you do not have your own, see if your school will let you borrow one for this science fair project. Alternatively, you could use a virtual piano keyboard online with labeled keys.

Volunteers 10 adults (age 21 or older), 5 males and 5 females 10 children (age 9 or younger), 5 males and 5 females Lab notebook Share your story with Science Buddies! I Did This Project! Please log in and let us know how things went. Experimental Procedure Finding and Naming the Notes on a Piano or Keyboard To start this science fair project, you will need to be familiar with the names and locations of notes on the piano so that you can both play them, and write down in your lab notebook which ones you are playing. First, find Middle C on the piano or keyboard. If you do not know which key is middle C, you will need to find a friend, family member, or music teacher who can show you or figure it out using this article about Middle C or Figure 2, below. In this science fair project, we will refer to Middle C as C4. Middle C is often called C4 because it is the fourth C key on a standard piano. The names of all the other notes will be based around C4.

If you are using this virtual piano keyboard to do this science project, the keys are labeled when you hover over them with your mouse or click on them. You can use Figure 2, below, to help you locate C4 on the virtual keyboard. There are seven notes—A, B, C, D, E, F, and G—repeated over and over on the piano. See Figure 2, below. The white keys on the piano represent these seven notes. The black keys are smaller shifts in pitch (either sharps or flats) and will not be used; you will only use the white keys for this experiment. The keys to the right of C4 are higher in pitch. The D to the right of C4 is called D4, the D to the right of C5 is called D5, and so forth. The keys to the left of C4 are lower in pitch. The B to the left of C4 is called B3, the B to the left of C3 is called B2, and so forth. Figure 2. The top diagram shows the placement of all of the different C notes on a full-size piano.

The bottom diagram shows a close-up with the names of the notes represented by the white keys around Middle C. Middle C is highlighted in yellow in both diagrams. Determining Vocal Range Start by playing C4 on the piano or keyboard. Have the volunteer sing the note back to you. If he or she can comfortably sing the note, then it is in his or her vocal range. If the volunteer has to strain to reach the note, then it is not in his or her vocal range. The volunteer has to actually sound like he or she is singing. If the "singing" sounds like grunting, growling, screeching, or squeaking, then it does not count and the note is not in the volunteer's vocal range. If the volunteer can sing C4, keep playing increasingly higher-pitched notes (to the right of C4) and have the volunteer sing them back until you reach a note that is no longer comfortable for him or her to sing. Remember to only use the white keys for this experiment.

If the volunteer finds it helpful, he or she can sing "do," "re," "mi," "fa," "sol," "la," "ti," "do," when singing increasingly higher-pitched notes (such as for singing the notes C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, A4, B4, and then C5). Make a data table, like Table 1, in your lab notebook. Mark each note that the volunteer can sing with an "X". The highest pitched note that he or she can sing is the top of his or her vocal range. Note: You will probably need to include more notes (higher and/or lower) than the ones shown in the data table below. Volunteer Table 1. In your lab notebook, make a data table, like this one. For each volunteer, mark each note that the volunteer can comfortably sing with an "X." You will probably need to include more notes than the ones shown in this data table. To find the bottom of the volunteer's vocal range, go back to C4.

This time, keep playing increasingly lower-pitched notes (to the left of C4), and have him or her sing each note back to you until you come to a note that is no longer comfortable for him or her to sing. If the volunteer finds it helpful, they can sing "do," "ti," "la," "sol," "fa," "mi," "re," "do," when singing increasingly lower-pitched notes (such as for singing the notes C4, B3, A3, G3, F3, E3, D3, and then C3). Remember to mark each note that the volunteer can sing with an "X" in the data table in your lab notebook. The lowest-pitched note that he or she can sing is the bottom of his or her vocal range. Repeat steps 1–3 of this section for each of the volunteers. In the end, you should have data from a total of 20 people. You can include yourself as one of the volunteers, if you fit into one of the volunteer categories.

You should have data from four categories of people, with five volunteers per category: Male adults, age 21 or older Female adults, age 21 or older Male children, age 9 or younger Female children, age 9 or younger Analyzing the Data For each category of volunteers, count how many of them were able to reach each note. Make a new data table, like Table 2, below, in your lab notebook, showing the totals. For example, if all five of the male adults you tested were able to sing C4, write "5" under the C4 column in the "Male adults" row. Volunteer Category Table 2. In your lab notebook, make a data table like this one. Write down the total number of volunteers that were able to sing each note for each volunteer category. Using the totals in your data table, make bar graphs showing the number of volunteers who can sing each note. Put the notes on the horizontal axis going across (the x-axis) and the number of volunteers on the left axis going up and down (the y-axis). Make one bar graph for each volunteer category, for a total of four graphs.

If you need help graphing, or would like to use the computer to make your graphs the Create a Graph website might be helpful. Compare the four graphs. How do the vocal ranges of male and female children compare? Are they similar or different? How do the vocal ranges of male and female adults compare? Is one higher than the other? Look at just the male graphs. Does age affect vocal range for males? Now look at just the female graphs. Does age affect female vocal range? Share your story with Science Buddies! I Did This Project! Please log in and let us know how things went. Variations On average, how many notes are in a person's vocal range? Does gender or puberty affect the magnitude of a person's vocal range? Do trained singers have larger vocal ranges than non-trained singers? Modify the Experimental Procedure to answer these questions. How does the human vocal range compare to the musical range of other instruments? Design an experiment to find out. Which choral parts (soprano, alto, baritone, etc.) are easiest to fill? Which are hardest to fill? Determine the choral range of each of your participants to find out the answer!

Note: More information about choral ranges can be found in this Wikipedia entry about vocal range . Share your story with Science Buddies! I Did This Project! Please log in and let us know how things went. If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers: Physician Physicians work to ease physical and mental suffering due to injury and disease. They diagnose medical conditions and then prescribe or administer appropriate treatments. Physicians also seek to prevent medical problems in their patients by advising preventative care. Ultimately, physicians try to help people live and feel better at every age. Read more News Feed on This Topic , , Note: A computerized matching algorithm suggests the above articles. It's not as smart as you are, and it may occasionally give humorous, ridiculous, or even annoying results! Learn more about the News Feed Looking for more science fun? Try one of our science activities for quick, anytime science explorations. The perfect thing to liven up a rainy day, school vacation, or moment of boredom. Singing Science: How High and Low Can You Go? - Scientific American Scientific American Singing Science: How High and Low Can You Go?

A musical exploration from Science Buddies By Science Buddies on December 4, 2014 Share on Facebook Fa-la-la-la-la: Learn how your physiology affects your vocal range with a fun musical activity. Credit: George Retseck Advertisement | Introduction Do you enjoy singing holiday songs at school—or with friends or family? Singing can be a fun tradition, especially at this time of year. But have you noticed that different people tend to sing different parts of a song—or sing in different octaves? Have you ever wondered what the highest note is that you can sing? How about the lowest? Do you think males and females can reach most of the same notes? How about children and adults? In this "note"-worthy science activity, you'll get to answer some of these questions! Background Have you ever started singing a song, and then realized a little way into the melody that the notes were too high or too low for you to sing well? If so, the song was outside of your vocal range. A person's vocal range consists of all the notes between the lowest and highest notes a person can comfortably sing. To understand what might determine a person's vocal range, it is important to first understand what is happening when a person sings.

When air is expelled from a person's lungs, it's carried out of the body through a tube called the trachea (or windpipe) in the throat. In the trachea, the air passes through the larynx (or voice box), which contains folds of tissue called the vocal cords. The vocal cords vibrate as air passes by them, and this vibration creates sound. If you place your fingers at the base of your throat as you sing or talk, you might be able to faintly feel these vibrations. The pitch of the sound a person makes is determined by several factors, including the size and tension of his or her vocal cords. By changing some factors, people can produce different pitches, or notes. Materials Piano, keyboard or a virtual piano online (such as this virtual piano keyboard ). Volunteers (at least three). If you want to compare how age affects vocal range, you will want some adults age 21 or older and some children age 9 or younger (all of the same gender to make comparisons easier). If you want to investigate how gender affects vocal range, be sure to include both males and females (all of the same age range).

Preparation Make sure you are familiar with the names and locations of the notes on the piano. Specifically, make sure you can find Middle C. Middle C is often called C4 because it is the fourth C key on a standard piano. If you do not know which key is Middle C (C4), you will need somebody who can show you or you can use this virtual piano keyboard , which has labeled keys. Can you find Middle C? There are seven notes on a piano keyboard (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) that are repeated over. The white keys on the piano represent these notes. Can you identify these notes on the piano? (The black keys are smaller shifts in pitch, either sharps or flats, and will not be used in this activity.) Familiarize yourself with the other notes on the keyboard. The keys to the right of C4 are higher in pitch. The D to the right of C4 is called D4, the D to the right of C5 (the fifth C key on a standard piano) is called D5, and so on. The keys to the left of C4 are lower in pitch.

The B to the left of C4 is called B3, the B to the left of C3 is called B2, and so on. Can you identify C3, C4 and C5, and the notes in between these ones? Procedure Get your first volunteer ready, and play C4 on the piano, keyboard or virtual piano keyboard. Can the volunteer sing the note back to you? If the volunteer can comfortably sing the note, then it is in his or her vocal range. (For this activity to accurately map vocal ranges, the volunteer has to actually sound like he or she is singing; if the "singing" sounds like grunting, growling, screeching or squeaking, then it does not count and the note is not in the volunteer's vocal range.) If the volunteer can sing C4, keep playing increasingly higher-pitched notes (to the right of C4) and have the volunteer sing them back until you reach a note that is no longer comfortable for him or her to sing.

If the volunteer finds it helpful, he or she can sing "do," "re," "mi," "fa," "so," "la," "ti," "do," when singing increasingly higher-pitched notes (such as for singing the notes C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, A4, B4 and then C5). What is the highest-pitched note that the volunteer can sing? (This is the top of the volunteer's vocal range.) To find the bottom of the volunteer's vocal range, go back to C4 and keep playing increasingly lower-pitched notes (to the left of C4) and have the volunteer sing each note back to you until you come to a note that is no longer comfortable for him or her to sing. If the volunteer finds it helpful, he or she can sing "do," "ti," "la," "so," "fa," "mi," "re," "do," when singing increasingly lower-pitched notes (such as for singing the notes C4, B3, A3, G3, F3, E3, D3 and then C3). What is the lowest-pitched note that the volunteer can sing?

(This is the bottom of the volunteer's vocal range.) Repeat this process with each of the other volunteers. What is the vocal range for each volunteer? How do the vocal ranges of male and female children compare? What about male and female adults, and adults compared to children? Extra: You could do this activity again but this time use at least 20 volunteers as follows: 10 adults (age 21 or older, including five males and five females) and 10 children (age 9 or younger, including five males and five females). How does age and gender appear to affect a person's vocal range? Extra: Investigate several different musical instruments and their musical ranges. How does the human vocal range, which you explored in this activity, compare to the musical range of other instruments? Extra: Do some research into the classification of vocal ranges for choirs (e.g., soprano, alto, baritone, etc.). You can use the resources in the "More to explore" section to help you do this. What ranges do your volunteers belong to? Which basic choral ranges are easiest to fill? Which are the hardest to fill?

[break] Observations and results Did you find that children typically have the highest vocal ranges (regardless of gender), and adult men typically have the lowest? One thing a person cannot control is the length of his or her vocal cords, which affects the pitch of sound a person makes when singing. Vocal cord size is similar in young males and young females, which is why children—boys and girls—have a similar vocal range. (This is from about A3 to G5.) But as children go through puberty, their vocal cords grow longer, giving adults typically lower vocal ranges than children. By the time they're adults, most females have vocal cords that are between 12.5 millimeters (mm) and 17.5 mm long; adult males usually have longer vocal cords, between 17 mm and 25 mm in length. Consequently, singing voices for women are usually a little higher than for men, with the highest female voice (soprano) reaching C6 and the lowest one (contralto) going down to E3, while the highest male voice (countertenor, typically in falsetto) may hit E5, and the lowest one (bass) can drop down to E2.

How many octaves are on a piano keyboard? | Reference.com How many octaves are on a piano keyboard? A: Quick Answer An octave spans eight notes in the musical scale, and a standard piano keyboard includes seven full octaves across its 52 white and 36 black keys. Full Answer The word "octave" comes from the Latin root "octo," which means "eight." While an octave only includes seven unique notes, the title comes from the fact that it includes two variants of the same note on opposite ends of each individual octave. For example, an octave can begin with a "low C" and will conclude with a "high C" at the top of the octave. An octave on a piano spans the white keys, which play the major notes, but also includes five black keys, which play minor notes within the octave.

Question: On a standard piano what normally is the lowest note?
Answer: A