Music Theory for Everyone

Water, when broken down into smaller components, becomes two hydrogen and one oxygen molecule. Like chemical compounds, sound (and hence music) can be examined by its elements. In doing so, one can see how the numerous musical notes and symbols relate to the actual sounds produced by instruments.

There are four elements of sound, the first and most complex being PITCH. Pitch is simply defined as the highness or lowness of sound. Flutes generally produce higher pitches while tubas produce lower. However, non-musical sounds, such as a door slamming, also contain pitch. Their SOUND WAVES change so rapidly during the period they are being produced that no DEFINITE pitch is heard. What you do hear is a collage of sound FREQUENCIES combined to generate what is called an INDEFINITE pitch. We commonly call this NOISE, although drummers, being very musical, are often accused of making "noise". Their instruments are designed to produce pleasing sounding indefinite pitches.

If all of the frequencies of a sound are vibrating at the exact same rate, then a DEFINITE pitch is heard. The best example of a definite pitch is the tuning standard, "A" = 440 cycles or vibrations per second, abbreviated cps. This musical tone has a FREQUENCY of 440 cps. The tiny vibrations are consistent throughout the pitch's sounding life, otherwise it could not be identified as "A". The less consistent the vibrations, the closer the pitch would be to becoming indefinite.

Let us purport that, if you could get any physical mass or object to vibrate back and forth at an even 440 times every second, you would hear the musical pitch "A". Firmly hold a ruler off of the side of a desk or table and pluck it at the other end; at a specific length the ruler would vibrate up and down 440 times each second, sounding the pitch "A". If the little motor in your electric shaver oscillates 440 times a second, you would hear a "buzzy" "A". By the way, the "buzzy" part of the sound is indefinite. Do you remember when kids used to clip playing cards to their bicycles? At the speed where the spokes would hit the card 440 times every second - well you get the idea. The same goes for vibrating stretched strings (violins, guitars, etc.), vocal chords (singers), air columns (all wind instruments including pipe organ), tympani heads, metal or wooden bars (chimes, bells, xylophone, etc.), and speaker cones (electronic instruments).