Klarinet Archive - Posting 000240.txt from 2006/03

From: "Mark Charette" <charette@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Other worlds
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:46:02 -0500

> Keith wrote:
>> There's a mathematical theorem about this. Amplifiers, speakers,
>> filters etc can and do add or subtract harmonics, which must be
>> multiples of the fundamental, but cannot alter the fundamental
>> frequency (tuning) of the note. They make it sound horrid for other
>> reasons.
>
> I'm kind of rusty on the maths side of music right now, I must get back
> to speed.... :-) I wasn't meaning that amplification would change the
> pitch, but rather that if there was a pitch discrepancy, its presence
> would be highlighted by amplification. Does that make any more sense,
> or do I need to go back to school? :-P

Considering the fact that most people don't have pitch discrimination all
that good at low frequencies, all you do is get some slow beat notes (like
a lot of recordings of Also Sprach Zarathrusta - the orchestra & organ low
note are often out of tune with each other on that last chord , but it
still sounds fine :)

If you're talking beat notes, they have to get to a certain frequency
before they're really objectionable in a mix. Off-hand I don't remember
what frequency that is - and considering that all the instruments might be
amp'd, the balance remains the same. I never really noticed on-stage the
amplifiers making all that much difference, other than feeling the beat
notes better. But if you're not on a sustained note, you don't notice, and
if you _are_ on a sustained note, it's better to be flat (and stretch to
pitch) - there's nothing you can do if you're sharp. If possible, if you
know the note is sharp, you'd switch to a different fingering for the same
note that's in-tune or flat, even if the timbre changes, and compensate
for timbre if you can (when you see the guitar player's hand flying down
to the tone control on a sustained note that's probably what he/she's
doing).

Again, not so different ... kids in garage bands learn those things - at
least I & my cohorts did 35 years ago, and watching today's bands they
still do the same thing - even if you don't happen to like the music.

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