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
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.
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.
We don’t know why, but we think it is because of practice from when we are very young.
But, for an ELI5, think of it like naming colours.
Colour is a spectrum, a range. From black to white. Just like music is a range from really low to really high.
But, not many people can tell the difference in colour shades. Not many people can look at a wall and say “classic cream” or “almond white”, which are both white colours.
So, using those two whites as my example to relate it back to musical pitch:
– Someone with no experience with notes, will just tell you if the note was high or low pitch. A complete guess for the note itself.
Just like someone who has no experience with paint will just tell you it’s white. Obviously not dark enough to be black or grey or purple. It is white. It could be beige or a light cinnamon, but they may still say white.
– Some people can have something called relative pitch. This is where they have a pitch they have trained themselves to know. Like an E or a D sharp (the first two notes in fur elise, or the first two notes in the toccata and fugue). So, they can identify notes from there pretty well.
Just like someone who can tell you if a shade of green is too dark or too bold or too faded or whatever. They have a reference point in their mind for what they want. They can visualise how dark an emerald green is, and how light a peridot green is, and how faded an olive green is. They can see a lime green colour and immediately tell you it isn’t teal by relation to the other colours they already know.
– Some people have perfect pitch. This is different to relevant pitch as they can tell you the exact frequency of the note. If it is microtonally flat or sharp. If the note is E but not a perfect E, they will hear the note and know if it is slightly off pitch or really close to half way between E and F. It is unknown how people have perfect pitch. We don’t know if you’re just born with it or if you have the ability to do it and you need to practice when you’re young, or if you are born with the ability and you can train it up in your mid thirties.
This is like when someone can tell you if the pain you got is almond white, without comparing it to a chart or any other white or colour. Just see a solat of it on a palette and immediately say that it was almond white. Soecifically that shade, without comparison.
We don’t know why, but we think it is because of practice from when we are very young.
But, for an ELI5, think of it like naming colours.
Colour is a spectrum, a range. From black to white. Just like music is a range from really low to really high.
But, not many people can tell the difference in colour shades. Not many people can look at a wall and say “classic cream” or “almond white”, which are both white colours.
So, using those two whites as my example to relate it back to musical pitch:
– Someone with no experience with notes, will just tell you if the note was high or low pitch. A complete guess for the note itself.
Just like someone who has no experience with paint will just tell you it’s white. Obviously not dark enough to be black or grey or purple. It is white. It could be beige or a light cinnamon, but they may still say white.
– Some people can have something called relative pitch. This is where they have a pitch they have trained themselves to know. Like an E or a D sharp (the first two notes in fur elise, or the first two notes in the toccata and fugue). So, they can identify notes from there pretty well.
Just like someone who can tell you if a shade of green is too dark or too bold or too faded or whatever. They have a reference point in their mind for what they want. They can visualise how dark an emerald green is, and how light a peridot green is, and how faded an olive green is. They can see a lime green colour and immediately tell you it isn’t teal by relation to the other colours they already know.
– Some people have perfect pitch. This is different to relevant pitch as they can tell you the exact frequency of the note. If it is microtonally flat or sharp. If the note is E but not a perfect E, they will hear the note and know if it is slightly off pitch or really close to half way between E and F. It is unknown how people have perfect pitch. We don’t know if you’re just born with it or if you have the ability to do it and you need to practice when you’re young, or if you are born with the ability and you can train it up in your mid thirties.
This is like when someone can tell you if the pain you got is almond white, without comparing it to a chart or any other white or colour. Just see a solat of it on a palette and immediately say that it was almond white. Soecifically that shade, without comparison.
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.
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.
Most people don’t go “that’s an Ab” by ear. That’s a trait known as perfect pitch, and it typically requires purposeful training from a very young age. Since most people don’t go “hey, Timmy” *presses piano key* “what note is this?”, perfect pitch isn’t very common.
A skill most people can actually hone is relative pitch; knowing the distance between two notes, aka intervals. This is how most people tune, and how we can tell someone is out of tune.
So if I know you’re playing in the key of C, and I’ve heard the tonic (C), and you play a note that isn’t C, I can tell how far off you are, and do the mental gymnastics to name that note. It’s about the relationships of notes, not their individual identities.
Most people don’t go “that’s an Ab” by ear. That’s a trait known as perfect pitch, and it typically requires purposeful training from a very young age. Since most people don’t go “hey, Timmy” *presses piano key* “what note is this?”, perfect pitch isn’t very common.
A skill most people can actually hone is relative pitch; knowing the distance between two notes, aka intervals. This is how most people tune, and how we can tell someone is out of tune.
So if I know you’re playing in the key of C, and I’ve heard the tonic (C), and you play a note that isn’t C, I can tell how far off you are, and do the mental gymnastics to name that note. It’s about the relationships of notes, not their individual identities.
Training and practice: https://xkcd.com/2173/ Specifically https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_training and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_recognition
Here’s old ELI5s on Orchestra tuning: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22usqp/eli5_whats_the_purpose_of_an_orchestra/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a5dfdd/eli5_prior_to_playing_musicians_tune_their/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44vjbf/eli5_why_do_orchestras_sound_all_weird_at_the/
The short version is that one player (the oboe) plays a standard A, and the various sections tune to that. The strings have an A that matches, and then they can tune each of their strings to be the correct interval (a fifth) off of that A (for example the violin would tune the E and D off of the A, and then the G off of the D).
Whatever your interest is, someone else could easily wonder how you see or hear something and make sense of it. Or languages.
Training and practice: https://xkcd.com/2173/ Specifically https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_training and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_recognition
Here’s old ELI5s on Orchestra tuning: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22usqp/eli5_whats_the_purpose_of_an_orchestra/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a5dfdd/eli5_prior_to_playing_musicians_tune_their/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44vjbf/eli5_why_do_orchestras_sound_all_weird_at_the/
The short version is that one player (the oboe) plays a standard A, and the various sections tune to that. The strings have an A that matches, and then they can tune each of their strings to be the correct interval (a fifth) off of that A (for example the violin would tune the E and D off of the A, and then the G off of the D).
Whatever your interest is, someone else could easily wonder how you see or hear something and make sense of it. Or languages.
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