Re: decibels

From: Roy Mayeda (roy_mayeda@isd743.k12.mn.us)
Date: Fri Oct 04 2002 - 09:53:47 PDT

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Date: 04 Oct 2002 11:53:47 -0500
Message-ID: <969093577roy_mayeda@isd743.k12.mn.us>
From: Roy Mayeda <roy_mayeda@isd743.k12.mn.us>
Subject: Re: decibels

Kevin,

Volume and pitch are not exactly related. Decibels, measuring volume, are related to the energy carried by the wave (the energy transferred by the compression of the medium). Pitch (frequency) is the rate at which waves pass a point. There is an indirect relationship based on the energy used to drive the production of sound. If I remember correctly, in music classes we were cautioned to watch our pitch when playing loudly, as "overblowing" often produced a flat (lower) pitch. There was still no relation between pitch and frequency, but putting more energy into producing the sound caused the object (reed, lip, etc.) to vibrate at a slightly different rate.

Roy Mayeda
Sauk Centre HS
Sauk Centre, MN

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