For example, why are a C6 and a C4 both considered to be the note of C? They sound different, so why the repeated naming convention? Can people (without extensive musical training) hear some similarity between the two that indicates they are the same note?
In: Mathematics
I don’t know if you’re tone deaf, but all C notes sound similar, despite being different pitches. In fact, C5 sounds much more like C4 than B5 does, despite B5 being closer in pitch to C4. To normal, non-tone deaf people, they can hear the consonance between all the Cs and the strong dissonance between all Cs and Bs.
The phenomenon is due to the cyclic nature of pitches: the sound pressure waves move back and forth more synchronously for consonant pitches, and more every-which-way for dissonant pitches.
One way to visualize why C4 and C6 should be similar is to imagine the notes being positions on a clock, and the increasing octaves being the passing of one day to the next. 12 a.m. on Tuesday is similar to 12 a.m. on Wednesday, but unlike 9 a.m. on Tuesday, despite being on the same day.
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