--- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozg...@...> wrote: > > authfriend wrote: <snip> > > It's odd because the notes of an octave are the *same > > note*, just at a higher frequency (I think that's the > > term). I don't know the physics of it, but he should > > be able to tell that middle C and C above middle C are > > the same in a way that middle C and the B above middle > > C, say, are not. > > > > I'm not sure what *makes* them the same...anybody know? > > The same note but double the frequency. A 440 an octave > higher is A880.
That's what makes them different. What makes them the same, though? > Hearing it often depends on whether it's an octave on the > same instrument or two instruments. For instance it would > be easier to tell piccolos doubling the clarinet part an > octave higher than on a piano or synth like he is playing > in the video. Also octaves in the bass on a piano are > easy to recognize because of their heaviness. See, for me, that's like saying it can be hard to tell that two different-sized photos of a person's face are the same photo if they're both printed on a certain kind of paper. An octave is an octave is an octave no matter what instrument(s) is/are playing it. Maybe I could be fooled by a synthesizer if there were no overtones; I've listened to some weird auditory illusions created with a synthezizer using "pure" tones. But the one he was using in the video did have overtones so it sounded like a (crappy) piano. I guess people with perfect pitch can't understand why the rest of us can't tell whether a single note is a C or an A-flat either... And then there are folks who can't carry a tune at all. My best friend in grade school was like that. We were heavily into folk songs, and it used to drive me nuts when we sang one together. She had no clue that she wasn't singing the same notes I was, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I had to just grit my teeth. Every once in a while she'd be off by just the right amount for a few bars, though, and it would sound as though we were harmonizing. (Can you tell I'm procrastinating about getting back to work??)
