The lowest note on a piano is A, four octaves below the A.?

The highest note on a piano is C, four octaves above the middle C. Find the frequencies and wavelengths (in air) of these notes.

2 Answers

  • We need to know the speed of sound in air, which varies slightly with temperature

    and density, but at sea level is about 331 meters per second. Using this value:

    The frequency of the A above middle C is 440 cycles per second (or Hertz). Each

    octave down reduces the frequency of the corresponding A by half, so the lowest

    A on a piano has a frequency of 27.5 cycles per second. The wavelength is found

    by dividing the speed of sound (331 m/sec) by the frequency, so the lowest A has

    a wavelength of 331 / 27.5, or 12.036 meters.

    The highest C on the piano has a frequency of 4096 cps (Hertz), so its wavelength

    is 331 / 4096, or 0.08081 meter, which is the same as 8.081 centimeters.

    Source(s): I have studied both music and physics
  • First - make sure you have no cumulative leaks in the entire flute. The smallest leaks anywhere on the body are all combined together to prevent good low notes. Your foot joint is notorious for leaking. PRESSING HARD is terrible technique -and often does not help, anyway. So - let's address your embouchure. Keep you head up - looking slightly above eye level. Use the center of your upper lip to direct the airstream - always - and point the AIR down, without lowering your head. This will take some experimentation. Lowering your head causes *covering*, and you will *eat* the note. Work down chromatically in robust long tones, from A or G - keeping that center, and using the slightest bit of the side/cheek muscles to reinforce the direction of the airstream - center, center, center. Gonna be 100 miles north of NYC? Drive on over here - or find a good professional flutist/teacher in your area. This is what we do - we fix your problems in a fraction of the time that you would spend beating yourself up. I don't paint my own house - and HE does not teach his daughter flute - I do.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts