Name: brian s martin
What are the characteristics of the that differentiate between
musical notes, in terms of frequency, amplitude, and
wavelength? Such as the musical note A# has a frequency
of x Hz, and amplitude of x nm, and a wavelength of x nm.
The only thing that characterizes a musical note to
our ears is its frequency. The wavelength is related
to the frequency (their ratio is the speed of sound) - and
the wavelength of sound is generally in cm, not nm!
A note with a large amplitude is loud, one with a small
amplitude is soft. Loudness is usually measured on
the deciBell scale, which is determined by the maximum pressure
change that the note (or other noise) produced. The range
of musical notes we can hear is about 30 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Different kinds of instruments produce notes that sound
different because they actually produce a combination of
frequencies roughly in multiples of the principle frequency
of the note being played.
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Update: June 2012