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!

In: 10

23 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

In addition to these: after you have played some instrument enough times, you get to recognize when it sounds right and when it sounds wrong. The same can happen when you are singing. You can tell when a note sounds like it has before, or how it sounds when you are playing and singing with others. I will add that for some this comes quickly, and for some it never comes. The brain can be quirky that way.

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