On Thursday 13 April 2006 08:33, tim hall wrote: > Christoph Eckert wrote: > >>Computers count from zero. Always have, always will. > > > > yes, of course, I know. > > > > But it is possible to hide this in user interfaces. IMHO the > > machines have to serve the humans, not the other way around. > > > > How many mails are you reading right now, 0 or 1 ;-) ? > > It's not a question of number, it's a question of counter position. > Yes it does my head in too, but when was the last time you counted > from 1 on a ruler? > > This thread has explained to me why I'm constantly confused as to the > location of 'middle C'. I would also like to point out to anyone > writing software that uses a MIDI keyboard that, while A=440 is a > sane default, there are musically appropriate reasons for variations > in the range of A=415 to A=446+ - allowing a slightly greater range > of variation (say 400 - 450Hz) could also be useful. I tend not to > use software that does not allow this. > > cheers, > > tim hall Some basic thoughts on note numbering. a Note is a Frequency; ie A440 A880 is the A note an octave above A440 ie frequency doubles On a piano, the lowest note is an A; often piano players call it A1 In that case, A1 (name) is A55 (frequency). Notice that the frequency description of a note sounded is not arbitrary; a plucked string has a fundamental frequency, which we use to describe the sound. Western music notation is based on the idea of note names; ABCDEFG A1, A2, ... are octaves apart. Note that 1 2 3 ... in these names are arbitrarily assigned. We could (and I think some do) call A440 A0. In that case the A an octive below would be called A-1, and it would make prefect sense as long as folks knew what A0 was. In brief, the numbers in note names are arbitrary and based on a logarithmic scale of frequencies. Where the zero point is on that scale is where the midi note numbering confusion arises. And the confusion exist for instrument players in general. > sane default, there are musically appropriate reasons for variations > in the range of A=415 to A=446+ - allowing a slightly greater range > of variation (say 400 - 450Hz) could also be useful. I tend not to > use software that does not allow this. I strongly agree. Isn't that just saying that an instrument should be tune-able. Horns have tuning slides; guitars have pegs. My soundcard has the capability; software that claims to support it should have a tuning slider, peg, widgit, command or something. Marv in Lexington, KY with blue skys, trees in bloom, mid 70s F.
