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The Essence of Music: Frequency, Timbre, and the Organization of Sound
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Frequency
The impact of two masses or energies propagating a wave throughout a space is the origin of sound. The wave consists of displaced particles in a space spreading out from a center in concentric circles throughout an atmosphere. Sound cannot be heard "in space" which is a vacuum - no particles in an atmosphere.
There are two categories of sound. One is Noise, and the other is Tone.
Noise is the random and disorganized mixture of wavelengths. With Noise there are too many frequencies such as in the sound of glass breaking or of ocean waves crashing onto the beach to isolate any particular Tone. Today there are a growing number of composers who are using Noise in their works.
Tone as differentiated from Noise is a sound wave characterized by a Frequency. Frequency refers to the number of cycles a sound vibrates per second. The standard measurement of all frequency is Hertz (Hz). Thus, 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second (cps). The human ear is capable only of perceiving sounds within a range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz). Beyond this range sounds are inaudible to the human ear. The sounds below the human range of hearing are called INFRASONIC (less than 20Hz) and those above the normal range are known as ULTRASONIC (more than 20,000 Hz). Sounds below the range human hearing are not heard, they are felt. Sounds above human hearing are capable of transmitting radio communication and produce sonographic images of a fetus in the womb. Sounds within the range of human hearing are known as ACOUSTIC.
All frequencies are part of a seemingly infinite scale of frequencies that span a range from 0.001 Hz to 300 GHz. Hence, all tones are constructed of frequencies, even though not all sounds are desirable or can be heard with the human ear. Tone is different from Noise in that a Tone is assigned a specific frequency and given a name. For example, in music the pitch A vibrates at a frequency of 440Hz. 440Hz = 440 cycles per second. Tone is the specialized designation of a pitch as a musical sound (or note). A Tone actually consists of a combination of frequencies with a dominant tone appearing more frequently and not just one frequency vibrating alone.
Harmonics and Timbre
When a musical instrument's body vibrates it does so in halves, thirds, fourths, and so on. These divisions of a vibrating body produce what are known as Harmonics. So whether it is a string or brass instrument, it is the relative strength and unique combinations of the Harmonics that produces not only Tone, but also timbre. Timbre (pronounced TAM-ber) is the unique voice or quality an instrument has. It's what differentiates the sound of one instrument from another. Timbre makes it easy to identify an instrument by its "sound."
[Note: Today electronics makes it possible to artificially change the Timbre of one instrument and give it the quality or character of another.]
Another difference between Noise and Tone is that notes either do or do not share Harmonics with each other. If they share many Harmonics, then they are considered consonant. Consonant means they sound pleasant together. But if they share few or no Harmonics, they are considered dissonant. Two or more sounds are considered dissonant, especially when they heavily clash or vibrate out of tune with each other. In some music traditions and genres of music note relationships that clash heavily or vibrate out of tune with each other are sometimes desirable qualities.
Jvc drvn sub of Sound
The discovery and organization of consonant and dissonant tones brought about a variety of tonal relationships which gave birth to a variety of tuning systems including our current notion of scales. A scale is simply a series of tonal relationships consisting of consonant and dissonant tones. Regardless of the tuning system one is using, notes and scales are the fundamental elements of every tuning system. Some of the tuning systems which have existed in the West include Pythagorean Intonation, Mean-Tone, Just Intonation, Well Temperament, and Equal Temperament. In Western music, the basic building blocks of composition come from the Equal Temperament system (A=440 Hz), its 12 notes, and their frequencies.
One of the ways I've broken this tradition is to broaden my compositional approach to include an expanded definition of what a note is and how many notes a scale can be comprised of. Now, for me, a note is any frequency that can be produced by a musical instrument and heard by the human ear. And a scale is any quantity of notes which have been designated or selected for use in a given musical context. So a note is any tone which exists in the acoustic range of human hearing from 20Hz to 20kHz and a scale is any series of notes allowed to be used for a musical composition, whether it consists of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 12 notes.
These are just some of the ideas I've learned, incorporated, and developed over time that have encouraged me to invent my own scales, experiment with alternate tunings, and string tensions. Because the way I see it is that if the range of human hearing includes every frequency from 20Hz to 20,000 Hz, then as a guitarist why not explore all sorts of alternate tunings, unusual interval sizes, and a variety of string tensions.
Conclusion
An artist not only creates with existing materials, but is also capable of manufacturing the very materials with which they create. So for a musician the very essence of creation will be in the realm of things I've discussed earlier - performing feats of tuning and inventing scales. Because ultimately, music is merely intelligently organized sound wave frequencies. Therefore, any system or set of tones can be utilized for the purpose of composing music. The challenge, however, with expanding the range of frequencies with which one works is in discovering consonant musical events where one least expected to and finding exotic forms of beauty by taming the dissonance. So in the end, the dividing line between what music is, and is not, is determined by whether or not it is organized by an entity possessed of intelligence as opposed to a random collection of sounds and noise.
The impact of two masses or energies propagating a wave throughout a space is the origin of sound. The wave consists of displaced particles in a space spreading out from a center in concentric circles throughout an atmosphere. Sound cannot be heard "in space" which is a vacuum - no particles in an atmosphere.
There are two categories of sound. One is Noise, and the other is Tone.
Noise is the random and disorganized mixture of wavelengths. With Noise there are too many frequencies such as in the sound of glass breaking or of ocean waves crashing onto the beach to isolate any particular Tone. Today there are a growing number of composers who are using Noise in their works.
Tone as differentiated from Noise is a sound wave characterized by a Frequency. Frequency refers to the number of cycles a sound vibrates per second. The standard measurement of all frequency is Hertz (Hz). Thus, 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second (cps). The human ear is capable only of perceiving sounds within a range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz). Beyond this range sounds are inaudible to the human ear. The sounds below the human range of hearing are called INFRASONIC (less than 20Hz) and those above the normal range are known as ULTRASONIC (more than 20,000 Hz). Sounds below the range human hearing are not heard, they are felt. Sounds above human hearing are capable of transmitting radio communication and produce sonographic images of a fetus in the womb. Sounds within the range of human hearing are known as ACOUSTIC.
All frequencies are part of a seemingly infinite scale of frequencies that span a range from 0.001 Hz to 300 GHz. Hence, all tones are constructed of frequencies, even though not all sounds are desirable or can be heard with the human ear. Tone is different from Noise in that a Tone is assigned a specific frequency and given a name. For example, in music the pitch A vibrates at a frequency of 440Hz. 440Hz = 440 cycles per second. Tone is the specialized designation of a pitch as a musical sound (or note). A Tone actually consists of a combination of frequencies with a dominant tone appearing more frequently and not just one frequency vibrating alone.
Harmonics and Timbre
When a musical instrument's body vibrates it does so in halves, thirds, fourths, and so on. These divisions of a vibrating body produce what are known as Harmonics. So whether it is a string or brass instrument, it is the relative strength and unique combinations of the Harmonics that produces not only Tone, but also timbre. Timbre (pronounced TAM-ber) is the unique voice or quality an instrument has. It's what differentiates the sound of one instrument from another. Timbre makes it easy to identify an instrument by its "sound."
[Note: Today electronics makes it possible to artificially change the Timbre of one instrument and give it the quality or character of another.]
Another difference between Noise and Tone is that notes either do or do not share Harmonics with each other. If they share many Harmonics, then they are considered consonant. Consonant means they sound pleasant together. But if they share few or no Harmonics, they are considered dissonant. Two or more sounds are considered dissonant, especially when they heavily clash or vibrate out of tune with each other. In some music traditions and genres of music note relationships that clash heavily or vibrate out of tune with each other are sometimes desirable qualities.
Jvc drvn sub of Sound
The discovery and organization of consonant and dissonant tones brought about a variety of tonal relationships which gave birth to a variety of tuning systems including our current notion of scales. A scale is simply a series of tonal relationships consisting of consonant and dissonant tones. Regardless of the tuning system one is using, notes and scales are the fundamental elements of every tuning system. Some of the tuning systems which have existed in the West include Pythagorean Intonation, Mean-Tone, Just Intonation, Well Temperament, and Equal Temperament. In Western music, the basic building blocks of composition come from the Equal Temperament system (A=440 Hz), its 12 notes, and their frequencies.
One of the ways I've broken this tradition is to broaden my compositional approach to include an expanded definition of what a note is and how many notes a scale can be comprised of. Now, for me, a note is any frequency that can be produced by a musical instrument and heard by the human ear. And a scale is any quantity of notes which have been designated or selected for use in a given musical context. So a note is any tone which exists in the acoustic range of human hearing from 20Hz to 20kHz and a scale is any series of notes allowed to be used for a musical composition, whether it consists of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 12 notes.
These are just some of the ideas I've learned, incorporated, and developed over time that have encouraged me to invent my own scales, experiment with alternate tunings, and string tensions. Because the way I see it is that if the range of human hearing includes every frequency from 20Hz to 20,000 Hz, then as a guitarist why not explore all sorts of alternate tunings, unusual interval sizes, and a variety of string tensions.
Conclusion
An artist not only creates with existing materials, but is also capable of manufacturing the very materials with which they create. So for a musician the very essence of creation will be in the realm of things I've discussed earlier - performing feats of tuning and inventing scales. Because ultimately, music is merely intelligently organized sound wave frequencies. Therefore, any system or set of tones can be utilized for the purpose of composing music. The challenge, however, with expanding the range of frequencies with which one works is in discovering consonant musical events where one least expected to and finding exotic forms of beauty by taming the dissonance. So in the end, the dividing line between what music is, and is not, is determined by whether or not it is organized by an entity possessed of intelligence as opposed to a random collection of sounds and noise.
