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Piano key frequencies
 
 
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This is a virtual piano showing the frequencies in cycles per second (Hz
Hertz

The hertz is a measure of frequency per unit of time, or the number of list of cycles per second. It is the SI base unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts....
), of each of the 88 keys on a piano (that is, note frequencies of each note found on a standard piano), with the 49th note, the fifth A (called A4), tuned to 440 cycles per second (referred to as A440
A440

A440 or Concert A is the 440 Hertz tone that serves as the standard for musical pitch . A440 is the musical note A above middle C .Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the 435 Hz recommendation the Austrian government made in 1885....
). This distribution of frequencies
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 is known as equal temperament
Equal temperament

Equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of Musical tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratios....
, that is, each successive pitch is derived by multiplying the previous by the twelfth root of two
Twelfth root of two

The twelfth root of two or is an algebraic number irrational number, representing the frequency ratio between any two consecutive notes of a modern chromatic scale in equal temperament; that is, the interval of a semitone....
. For example, A4 is normally tuned to 440 Hz.






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This is a virtual piano showing the frequencies in cycles per second (Hz
Hertz

The hertz is a measure of frequency per unit of time, or the number of list of cycles per second. It is the SI base unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts....
), of each of the 88 keys on a piano (that is, note frequencies of each note found on a standard piano), with the 49th note, the fifth A (called A4), tuned to 440 cycles per second (referred to as A440
A440

A440 or Concert A is the 440 Hertz tone that serves as the standard for musical pitch . A440 is the musical note A above middle C .Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the 435 Hz recommendation the Austrian government made in 1885....
). This distribution of frequencies
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 is known as equal temperament
Equal temperament

Equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of Musical tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratios....
, that is, each successive pitch is derived by multiplying the previous by the twelfth root of two
Twelfth root of two

The twelfth root of two or is an algebraic number irrational number, representing the frequency ratio between any two consecutive notes of a modern chromatic scale in equal temperament; that is, the interval of a semitone....
. For example, A4 is normally tuned to 440 Hz. To get the next semitone (A4), multiply 440 Hz by the twelfth root of two
Twelfth root of two

The twelfth root of two or is an algebraic number irrational number, representing the frequency ratio between any two consecutive notes of a modern chromatic scale in equal temperament; that is, the interval of a semitone....
. To go from A4 to B4 (up two semitones), multiply 440 by the twelfth root of two squared. For other tuning schemes refer to musical tuning
Musical tuning

In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* #Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* #Tuning systems, the various systems of Pitch used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical basis....
.

This list of frequencies is for a theoretical ideal piano. On an actual piano the ratio between semitones is slightly larger, especially at the high and low ends, due to string thickness which causes inharmonicity
Inharmonicity

In music, inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequency of overtones depart from whole number multiples of the fundamental frequency.Acoustically, a note perceived to have a single distinct pitch in fact contains a variety of additional overtones....
 due to the nonzero force required to bend steel piano wire
Piano wire

File:Piano strings.jpgPiano wire is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano and other musical instrument strings, as well as many other purposes....
 even in the absence of tension. This effect is sometimes known as stretched octaves, and the pattern of deviation is called the Railsback curve.

Virtual piano

Key number Helmholtz
Helmholtz pitch notation

Helmholtz pitch notation is a musical system for naming notes of the western music chromatic scale. Developed by the Germany scientist Hermann von Helmholtz, it uses a combination of upper case and lower case letters , and the sub- and super-prime symbols to describe each individual note of the scale....
 name 		Scientific
Scientific pitch notation

Scientific pitch notation is one of several methods that name the notes of the standard Western music chromatic scale by combining a letter-name, accidental , and a number identifying the Pitch 's octave....
 name 		Frequency (Hz)
88 c''''' (5-line 8ve
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
) 		C8
Eighth octave C

The musical note C8 is the C two full octaves above soprano high C. The note is one octave above the top of common musical keyboards, but the highest note of an 88-key piano....
 (Eighth octave) 		4186.01
87 b'''' B7 3951.07
86 3729.31
85 a'''' A7 3520.00
84 3322.44
83 g'''' G7 3135.96
82 2959.96
81 f'''' F7 2793.83
80 e'''' E7 2637.02
79 2489.02
78 d'''' D7 2349.32
77 2217.46
76 c'''' (4-line 8ve) C7 (Double high C) 2093.00
75 b''' B6 1975.53
74 1864.66
73 a''' A6 1760.00
72 1661.22
71 g''' G6 1567.98
70 1479.98
69 f''' F6 1396.91
68 e''' E6 1318.51
67 1244.51
66 d''' D6 1174.66
65 1108.73
64 c''' (3-line 8ve) C6 (Soprano C) 1046.50
63 b'' B5 987.767
62 932.328
61 a'' A5 880.000
60 830.609
59 g'' G5 783.991
58 739.989
57 f'' F5 698.456
56 e'' E5 659.255
55 622.254
54 d'' D5 587.330
53 554.365
52 c'' (2-line 8ve) C5 (Tenor C) 523.251
51 b' B4 493.883
50 466.164
49 a' A4 (A440
A440

A440 or Concert A is the 440 Hertz tone that serves as the standard for musical pitch . A440 is the musical note A above middle C .Prior to the standardization on 440 Hz, many countries and organizations followed the 435 Hz recommendation the Austrian government made in 1885....
) 		440.000
48 415.305
47 g' G4 391.995
46 369.994
45 f' F4 349.228
44 e' E4 329.628
43 311.127
42 d' D4 293.665
41 277.183
40 c' (1-line 8ve) C4 (Middle C
Middle C

C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solf?ge.In Western music, the expression "Middle C" refers to the musical note "C" located exactly between the two staff of the grand staff and near the top and bottom, respectively, of the bass voice and soprano voices....
) 		261.626
39 b B3 246.942
38 233.082
37 a A3 220.000
36 207.652
35 g G3 195.998
34 184.997
33 f F3 174.614
32 e E3 164.814
31 155.563
30 d D3 146.832
29 138.591
28 c (small 8ve) C3 (Low C) 130.813
27 B B2 123.471
26 116.541
25 A A2 110.000
24 103.826
23 G G2 97.9989
22 92.4986
21 F F2 87.3071
20 E E2 82.4069
19 77.7817
18 D D2 73.4162
17 69.2957
16 C (great 8ve) C2 (Deep C) 65.4064
15 B1 61.7354
14 58.2705
13 A1 55.0000
12 51.9130
11 G1 48.9995
10 46.2493
9 F1 43.6536
8 E1 41.2035
7 38.8909
6 D1 36.7081
5 34.6479
4 (contra-8ve) C1 (Pedal C) 32.7032
3 B0 30.8677
2 29.1353
1 (sub-contra-8ve) A0 (Double Pedal A) 27.5000


See also

  • Piano tuning
    Piano tuning

    Piano tuning is the act of making minute adjustments to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly align the intervals between their tones so that the instrument is Musical tuning....


External links

  • - A small GFDL
    GNU Free Documentation License

    The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project....
     perl script containing the information from the table on this page in a perl data structure.
  • — A php script allowing the reference pitch of A4 to be altered from 440 Hz.