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pitch
pitch. The location of a sound in the tonal scale, depending on the speed of vibrations from the source of the sound, fast ones producing a high pitch and slow ones a low. The rate of vibration per second is the note's ‘frequency’. By int. agreement of 1939, renewed and extended in 1960, the present-day standard of ‘concert-pitch’ to which instr. are tuned is that in which the A directly above middle C has 440 (double) vibrations per second (440 Hz), which makes middle C 261.6 Hz. This replaced the standard of 435 (diapason normal) fixed in Paris in 1859 and confirmed in Vienna in 1885. Before then, a variety of pitches existed. In Eng. in the 16th cent., domestic kbd. pitch was about 3 semitones lower than today's pitch and the church mus. pitch over 2 semitones higher. Between 1700 and 1850, the note A varied between 415 and 429. Pitch can now be measured electronically, but still the most common way is by a tuning-fork. See A.
Note that Eng. B♭ = Ger. B; and that Eng. B = Ger. H. |
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-pitch.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-pitch.html |
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pitch
pitch in music, the position of a tone in the musical scale , today designated by a letter name and determined by the frequency of vibration of the source of the tone. Pitch is an attribute of every musical tone; the fundamental, or first harmonic , of any tone is perceived as its pitch. The earliest successful attempt to standardize pitch was made in 1858, when a commission of musicians and scientists appointed by the French government settled upon an A of 435 cycles per second; this standard was adopted by an international conference at Vienna in 1889. In the United States, however, the prevailing standard is an A of 440 cycles per second. Before the middle of the 19th cent., pitch varied according to time, place, and medium of musical performance; since the classical period the trend has been gradually upward. The relative pitch of a tone, in contrast to absolute pitch , is an expression of its pitch in relation to the pitch of some other tone taken as a standard. |
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"pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pitch2.html "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pitch2.html |
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PITCH
PITCH. A term used generally and in PHONETICS for the level of the VOICE. Pitch depends on the frequency with which the vocal cords (or folds) vibrate to produce voice: the more rapidly, the higher the pitch perceived. When voices quaver, there is a fluctuation of pitch, especially in a falsetto (an especially male voice which is unnaturally high), the vocal cords having been greatly contracted. When a voice has a very low pitch, it is said to creak. Creaky voice, common among male RP-speakers, tends to occur at the end of a statement, as the voice falls low. Pitch range refers to the difference between high and low pitch. The greater the range, the greater the impression given of emotion. See ACCENT, TONE.
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TOM McARTHUR. "PITCH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "PITCH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-PITCH.html TOM McARTHUR. "PITCH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-PITCH.html |
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pitch
pitch Quality of sound that determines its position in a musical scale. It is measured in terms of the frequency of sound waves (measured in hertz) – the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. It also depends to some extent on loudness and timbre: increasing the intensity decreases the pitch of a low note and increases the pitch of a high one.
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"pitch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pitch.html "pitch." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-pitch.html |
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