h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can you change the footnote to the following?

These are the names for the notes in English - they differ in other language.

Yep, complete with added plural!(again)

Thank!

Thanks Hati, nice you found it out for us
Beethoven, eh ? Ah well, he starts with a B also

Hey... So you all sorted out the thing about mystery note
(the German H)

Some useful links perhaps?
A1124632 Guitar-related Injuries
A3073709 The Parts of an Acoustic Guitar
A996933 How To Buy A Guitar
A3176165 How Guitar Pickups Work
A3094067 The Plectrum

Another helpful source for the 440Hz note: The standard telephone tone.


SAUSAGE

I think the telephone tone varies very greatly between countries.

Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Phillipines all 440Hz (checked it out myself)

SAUSAGE

According to Wikipedia, "The dial tone varies between countries, being a "buzz" of two interfering tones (350 Hz and 440 Hz, as defined in the Precise Tone Plan) forming a concert F in the NANP (most of North America), and a constant single tone (425 Hz) in most of Europe". But then, what do they know?

What do they know... Just checked again (picked up the phone in Germany and called a friend in Brazil - he confirmed), both are 440Hz. Gnomon, you are in... where was that again? Ireland? What does your phone tell you?

I think that that buzz tone mentioned in Wikipedia is starting to replace the good old single tone in some networks where all things go digital. I heard that strange buzz in a Hotel once (in Germany).

Maybe one could phrase it like: The still common telephone dial tone is tuned to 440 Hz - can be used as a reference to tune guitars (and other instruments).

SAUSAGE

I'm in work at the moment - we have a private exchange which generates its own dial tone, and anyway, I haven't got my tuning fork with me.

What you don't have absolute pitch!?!?

SAUSAGE

Another thought:

Maybe you could use Tablature (A442883) to explain the tuning procedure:

Use

E |---------|---------|
B |---------|---------|
G |---------|---------|
D |---------|---------|
A |----0----|---------|
E |----5----|---------|

to tune the A string. It should give the same note.

Similarly:

E |---------|---------|---------|----0----|
B |---------|---------|----0----|----4----|
G |---------|----0----|----5----|---------|
D |----0----|----5----|---------|---------|
A |----5----|---------|---------|---------|
E |---------|---------|---------|---------|

In the end it is always useful to check:

E |---------|---------|---------|----3----|
B |---------|---------|----3----|---------|
G |---------|----2----|---------|----0----|
D |----2----|---------|----0----|---------|
A |---------|----0----|---------|---------|
E |----0----|---------|---------|---------|

In which case the note is the same but one octave apart.

Cheerio.

SAUSAGE

I'm not sure about the wisdom of introducing tablature. Tuning your guitar is the first thing you need to learn. If you've got as far as tablature, you probably know how to tune the guitar already.

Good entry!

However, the "get one" link at the top should be tagged <LINK H2G2... rather than <LINK BIO... as it's pointing to a Guide Entry not a Personal Space.

Hello everybody.

Dr Sausage - Thanks for the tab but I agree with Gnomon that it's a bit advanced for this entry. I've popped a link to the tab entry in the References though. If I do a more advanced entry with harmonics/intonation etc I'll probably pop it in.

Dr Sausage & Mr Dreadful - I've stuck those links in the Reference tags (which I just discovered) and ditched the 'get one' bit; I only added it as a way to include the link and it was clumsy. The Ref tag's much better.

Is the general concensus that it's safe to include the dialling tone as a 440hz reference? I don't want to confuse the issue.

Hati - Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you, you fell victim to a combination of server trub and a Post 21 situation.

Thank you all for your help so far.

The dialing tone is about 415 Hz here in Ireland.

Looking good, here's some more links for you;

A4596870 AC/DC - the Music
A4596898 AC/DC - the Band
A511598 Mnemonic Devices for the Guitarist

The only other suggestion I have is the title of the Entry;

Instead of : How to tune a guitar.

How To Tune A Guitar

Just to keep in the general tone of all the EG related guitar entries.



MJ

I've changed the title and linked to the AC/DC band entry. I did it as a BIO as it's not directly relevant to the subject matter (not all guitarists own or want to play any AC/DC. Odd, but it takes all sorts) and I think it's better to keep the list of referenced entries to those that are specifically guitar related. If that's completely against the house style I'll change it, but I think it'd be a little odd to see AC/DC singled out for special treatment (much though they deserve it).

As dialling tone pitches vary I think it's best if I don't mention it - I don't want a plethora of disclaimer footnotes, and dialling tones are liable to change anyway.

I just learned the 'Notepad' lesson the hard way!

to hear that I agree that you shouldn't mention the dialling tones - what would be the point of it anyway ?

An aside from an earlier bit of the convo:

Shostakovich was another composer who used his initials (DSCH) to form a (very frequent!) motif in his work. The S is D# btw.