Sensing Pitch
Pitch is how high or low a sound seems. It corresponds to the frequency of the sound wave — the number of vibrations per second, measured in hertz (Hz).
Questions you may have include:
- What is pitch?
- How does it relate to frequency?
- What is the human range?
Pitch and frequency
The faster a sound source vibrates, the higher its frequency and the higher the pitch we hear. A slow vibration produces a low pitch, like a bass note; a fast one produces a high pitch, like a whistle.
The human hearing range
People can typically hear frequencies from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. The upper limit tends to fall with age and after exposure to loud noise. Many animals hear well beyond our range — dogs and bats, for example, detect much higher frequencies.
How the ear detects pitch
Inside the cochlea, different regions respond to different frequencies, so where the vibration peaks tells the brain the pitch of the sound.
Summary
Pitch is the highness or lowness of a sound, set by the wave’s frequency in hertz: faster vibrations sound higher. Humans hear roughly 20 to 20,000 Hz, a range that narrows with age, and the cochlea senses pitch by which region responds to a given frequency.