Tuning Fork

[Retrospectre]

Hey all. I was reading the article on reference tones, and I even followed the link to the online tuning fork page.

What I wanted to know was: is it absolutely necessary to have a tuning fork to remember those frequencies, or can a tone generator be used for frequency training in reproducing those frequencies? Also, if both are perfectly fine to use, which is the most beneficial?

I'm asking because I've tried finding a tuning fork here in Cameroon, but to no avail.

[ChristopherS]

Hi Retrospectre,

You can certainly use a tone generator to memorise your reference pitch. There are two main differences between that and a tuning fork.

Firstly, there's clearly an issue of convenience - some people will find a simple physical device like a tuning fork very handy. Others would prefer to have MP3s of notes which they can play back on their MP3 player or phone... Personally I tend to opt for the more versatile electronic option, but then again I have been known to carry a mini harmonica on my keychain!

Probably the more significant difference is that tone generators will tend to produce very pure waveforms. For example, the most pure tone is a sine wave of a single frequency. This is very different from the harmonic sound you'll hear from a tuning fork, or the rich sound you'd hear from a recording of an instrument's note.

The human ear spends almost all its time hearing sounds with harmonics (at least, for pitched sounds like notes), so a pure sine wave can seem a bit too scientific and alien, and you may find it a little hard to relate its frequency to that of the real-world sounds you'll be trying to apply your skills to. On the other hand, the sine wave does represent the purest form of a particular frequency. If you're working more on the frequency training side, this may be a more appropriate sound source to train to, especially as your ability to discern pitches becomes more fine-grained.


So I'm afraid there are no clear-cut answers here - but that's really a good thing, since it means there's no bad way to practise!

I would tend to recommend using sounds which are similar to the real world examples you'll hear - so recorded notes (such as those in Fotios' Frequency Fundamentals course) or notes produced by a tuning fork, harmonica, or other easy-to-carry instrument. What matters most is that the sound source you use is convenient (so you can train easily, and quickly check your attempts to reproduce the pitch) and reliable (so you don't get thrown off by your instrument being out of tune, etc.)

Hope that helps!

[Retrospectre]

Thank you for the advice. I also had a question about the frequency notes in the Frequency Fundamentals course. I went there and downloaded the first track, the E's, and realized that the different octaves are not on separate tracks, but all on the same track. Were the tracks intended to be that way, putting together the octaves together on the same track?

[ChristopherS]

You're welcome! Make sure you let us know how you get on once you start learning your reference pitch.


The Frequency Fundamentals tracks are intended to group the octaves in that way. Since the frequency numbers you're learning are simple multiples of each other, you can focus on learning the lowest number, and then extend that knowledge to the multiples (for each octave above) - so all you need to remember at first is the number corresponding to the lowest octave in the track.

Listening to the different octaves together can help your ear determine what is common to the note across different octaves, and what changes about the sound when you go from one octave to the next. I can see that it might be useful to have the notes in individual tracks too, so I'll look into that.

Thanks for the feedback!