Hertz versus Semitones as a Scale for Comparing Pitch
Hertz is linear, perceived pitch is roughly logarithmic, so a fixed hertz difference is a large musical interval down low and a negligible one up high. This is exactly what decides whether the seed paper's +2.1 Hz per allele is interpreted sensibly against a 124.0 Hz male average or a 223.3 Hz female average, and it is the prerequisite for any honest between-group pitch comparison later in the path.
Questions this Concept answers
- Why does a difference of 20 Hz sound like a large step in a low voice and a small one in a high voice?
Calculating Musical Note Frequencies in Equal Temperament and Just Intonation
Musical tuning theory formalizes the relationship between perceived pitch and physical wave frequency: because pitch perception is logarithmic while frequency must increase exponentially across equal…