Welcome • User Guide
ToS • Privacy • Canary
Donate • Bugs • License

©2025 Poal.co

261

Middle C is 261.63 Hz. The next half-step up (C#) is 277.183 Hz.

Why are these notes, while a tone at, say, 265 Hz, is not? Or what about 269.1488 Hz -- nearly absolute middle of the two?

Why do we recognize certain frequencies as notes?

Middle C is 261.63 Hz. The next half-step up (C#) is 277.183 Hz. Why are these notes, while a tone at, say, 265 Hz, is not? Or what about 269.1488 Hz -- nearly absolute middle of the two? Why do we recognize certain frequencies as notes?

(post is archived)

You are currently inside a comment thread.
Click here to see all the comments (29).
[–] • 0 pt

It's just a standard that people made up for convenience. It's arguably as arbitrary as the length of an inch, or the weight of a pound.