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

Hi Andrew

Three weeks ago you made some pertinent observations on one particular section of my Entry A87761352 Concert Pitch - A Variable Standard. Since RL has now allowed me some time, I have rewritten the 'Why the Oboe' section you had doubts about, as follows:

<>

Before I update the Entry itself, would you now find this section acceptable?

h5

Hi, h5ringer!

Thank you for being so considerate; I am flattered that you should consult my opinion.

I'm sorry to say I find this still severely overworked. I believe the reason the oboe gives the note is extremely simple: it is the easiest instrument to tune to, on account of its penetrating timbre. I can't see why you feel the need to labour the question at all.

Electronic tuners have utterly revolutionised band and consort playing. It would now be very easy for all the orchestra to tune individually to their own machines, but the tradition is likely to remain, not least because the sound of an orchestra tuning to the oboe is so enjoyable. It whets the appetite nicely.

Thanks Andrew. I've pruned the section a little further, removing the fine-tuning sentence. For the rest I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. In truth the question how did the oboe become the tuning reference of choice has been on my mind on and off for years, becoming if not exactly an obsession, then a constant niggle.

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this with me.

Regards

What you have is fine now. You could even incorporate Gnomon's mention of the sawtooth advantage.

I can see this is a mild obsession, nothing wrong with that.

Hi h5!

I have baggsed this Entry to sub. I will propose a few changes near the beginning for the sake of scientific correctness, and ...

I know I should have brought this up in Peer Review, but would you like to mention Marin Mersenne as the person who first established the frequency of vibration as the measure of pitch? He set up ropes and wires over 40 metres long so that he could count the oscillations by eye! His results were published in his 'Harmonie Universelle' (Paris, 1636-7).

gets to his feet > stands up purposefully

--(evading gender)

what we perceive as a sound is actually a series of pressure waves > the sound reaches us in the form of a series of pressure waves

--(to say a sound 'is actually' something else is to jump a philosophical gun)

between each successive wave > between successive waves

--(there is nothing between a wave)

the higher the frequency of the note seems, or what is called musically, its pitch > the higher the note sounds. The pitch of a note is determined by the frequency of its vibration.

--(the frequency doesn't seem higher, it is higher. The note seems higher, but 'sounds' is a better word here, I think. 'Frequency' is well dealt with in the next sentence.)

For a thousand years, bands of musicians have known > Since time immemorial, musicians have known

--(why stop at a mere thousand? Choose another phrase if you don't like Time Immoral)

After this, before Scheibler, might be a spot to insert Mersenne.

A few more carps -- not many, I think -- to come

~A

This should be just about all of them. I'd like your permission before putting any in. I think it would be worth saying A=440 as well as A440 the first time you mention it, since that will turn up later.

Also, Hertz surely deserves a mention; after all he gave his name to the measuring system (440Hz).

Suggested changes, continued:

Interesting > Interestingly, it is the temperature of the air inside a brass or woodwind instrument, rather than the temperature of the instrument itself that counts.

This is due to the fact that the velocity of sound in air varies >
--(this might do with a tad more explanation, such as

The wavelength of a note is determined by the length of the instrument's tubing in use, subject to minor adjustments the player can make, but the speed at which those pressure waves travel outwards from the instrument varies with the air temperature. A long wave travelling quickly can deliver more vibrations per second than a shorter one travelling slower. At 15&deg;C the velocity of sound is about 340 metres per second; at 20&deg;C, 343 m/s and at 25&deg;C, 346 m/s. This would mean a note sounding at 440Hz at 15&deg;C would, at 20&deg;C, rise to 444Hz&mdash;about 15% of a semitone higher&mdash;using the same fingering, breath pressure, and so forth, on the same instrument.

--(that's it for now. I checked the pitch of a note tuned to 444Hz and indeed it shows 15 cents above A440 on my tuner. I didn't go through the maths for the different velocities, so I'm taking your word that the 15% rise came at 5 degrees increase of temperature, not 10 or some other)

Hope you concur. If you don't, we can work out a compromise.

Second smiley intended, first was meant to read : )

I put in m-dashes without spaces there; I notice you prefer n-dashes with. I'll use your preference.

I wonder why you wanted to sub this one?
Happy with these:
what we perceive as a sound is actually a series of pressure waves > the sound reaches us in the form of a series of pressure waves

between each successive wave > between successive waves

the higher the frequency of the note seems, or what is called musically, its pitch > the higher the note sounds. The pitch of a note is determined by the frequency of its vibration.

For a thousand years, bands of musicians have known > Since time immemorial, musicians have known

I think it would be worth saying A=440 as well as A440

Interesting > Interestingly, it is the temperature of the air inside a brass or woodwind instrument, rather than the temperature of the instrument itself that counts.

The wavelength of a note is determined by...
I don't think the additional explanation, though of course correct, is needed. I merely wanted to establish in the reader's mind that it does increase with temperature and give an indication of by how much.

Mersenne and Hertz to follow...

Hertz:

between <>
and <>
please insert...
<>
Sadly we don't have an h2g2 Entry on Hertz to link to...an opportunity there for someone me thinks

Mersenne:

Please insert some suitable sentence(s) about M Mersenne. It will contrast nicely the relatively low precision of his measurement of the velocity of sound in air (good though it was given what was available to him in the early part of the 17th C) and the much greater precision of Scheibler's tonometer 200 years later. You also link to Gnomon's Entry on Mersenne Numbers (A670051).

Thanks Andrew

PS m-dash vs n-dash. I don't have a preference for one or the other. I've tended to use n-dash with spaces; the Guide has a mishmash of both being used. A topic for the Style Guide!

I'll ask some italics about dash preferences.

How about this for Mersenne:

Marin Mersenne established the relation of frequency to pitch in the 1630s, using ropes and wires over forty metres long, so that he could count their oscillations by eye.

I would say something different about Hertz, because we are referring here to his extensive work on acoustics.

Mersenne

Good.

I've found out that your dashes convention is the approved one in 'English Usage in Approved Entries' A41950046

"When writing side notes and asides, try to use 'en dashes' (using the code &ndash instead of hyphens. [snip] Bear in mind that the en dash should be used with spaces either side – like this – and that 'em dashes' should not be used."

So that's me told off. I love em dashes. Multiple ones, as interminably strung together by Laurence Sterne.

Funny that the winkeye comes in there.

Sorry to keep you waiting; I'll be away for another few days. I hope to get this finished at the weekend.

I have made most of the agreed changes at A87766753 and added a footnote about SI units.

Are you adamant that the co-leader is to be 'he'?

I mentioned the acoustical studies of Hertz rather than electromagnetics which seems a little off-topic.

The frequency paragraph seems a little repetitive; perhaps that can be tidied.

How does it look to you?

Do you think it is anomalous to describe Scheibler tuning forks to Hz before Hertz was born? Should we rather say he tuned 52 forks to graded pitches within an octave?

Hi Andrew

<>
Ah this old chestnut. Since I detest the use of the androgynous he/she or his/her, I always avoid the issue, but this one has slipped through.
Suggest simply <>

<>

By 'frequency paragraph' do you mean the 'What is Pitch' section?. Tidy it as you see fit.

<>
I see your point, but I'd like to keep the numbers in there. Can we use cycles per second or cps instead of Hz, which is chronologically ok?