Eli5: how do people hear musical notes?

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I have no musical knowledge so bear with me.

How can people hear a note played or a word sung and this to themselves “oh that’s an A flat” or something along those lines. Or how can they identify that they are not singing the right note and know how to modify it to get to the correct one?

What about tuning instruments. How can someone do that by ear and just know that it’s in tune?

The mind boggles!

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23 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’m not sure about hearing musical notes and discerning them like saying that’s an A flat. But for tuning instruments, when you’re tuning against something else say a piano or a known constant, there will be a wah wah sound. Kind of a wobble in sound waves until you are “in tune” with the other instrument. Then the wobble gets shorter and eventually disappears when you are in tune.

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