Piano key frequencies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a virtual piano showing the frequencies in cycles per second (Hz), 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). This distribution of frequencies is known as equal temperament, that is, each successive pitch is derived by multiplying the previous by the twelfth root of two. For example, A4 is normally tuned to 440 Hz. To get the next semitone (A♯4), multiply 440 Hz by the twelfth root of two. 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.
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 due to the nonzero force required to bend steel piano wire in the absence of tension. This effect is sometimes known as stretched octaves, and the pattern of deviation is called the Railsback curve.
The following equation will give the frequency F (in Hertz) of the nth piano key, as shown in the table:
[edit] Virtual piano
| Key number | Helmholtz name | Scientific name | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | c′′′′′ (5-line 8ve) | C8 (Eighth octave) | 4186.01 |
| 87 | b′′′′ | B7 | 3951.07 |
| 86 | a♯′′′′/b♭′′′′ | A♯7/B♭7 | 3729.31 |
| 85 | a′′′′ | A7 | 3520.00 |
| 84 | g♯′′′′/a♭′′′′ | G♯7/A♭7 | 3322.44 |
| 83 | g′′′′ | G7 | 3135.96 |
| 82 | f♯′′′′/g♭′′′′ | F♯7/G♭7 | 2959.96 |
| 81 | f′′′′ | F7 | 2793.83 |
| 80 | e′′′′ | E7 | 2637.02 |
| 79 | d♯′′′′/e♭′′′′ | D♯7/E♭7 | 2489.02 |
| 78 | d′′′′ | D7 | 2349.32 |
| 77 | c♯′′′′/d♭′′′′ | C♯7/D♭7 | 2217.46 |
| 76 | c′′′′ (4-line 8ve) | C7 (Double high C) | 2093.00 |
| 75 | b′′′ | B6 | 1975.53 |
| 74 | a♯′′′/b♭′′′ | A♯6/B♭6 | 1864.66 |
| 73 | a′′′ | A6 | 1760.00 |
| 72 | g♯′′′/a♭′′′ | G♯6/A♭6 | 1661.22 |
| 71 | g′′′ | G6 | 1567.98 |
| 70 | f♯′′′/g♭′′′ | F♯6/G♭6 | 1479.98 |
| 69 | f′′′ | F6 | 1396.91 |
| 68 | e′′′ | E6 | 1318.51 |
| 67 | d♯′′′/e♭′′′ | D♯6/E♭6 | 1244.51 |
| 66 | d′′′ | D6 | 1174.66 |
| 65 | c♯′′′/d♭′′′ | C♯6/D♭6 | 1108.73 |
| 64 | c′′′ (3-line 8ve) | C6 (Soprano C) | 1046.50 |
| 63 | b′′ | B5 | 987.767 |
| 62 | a♯′′/b♭′′ | A♯5/B♭5 | 932.328 |
| 61 | a′′ | A5 | 880.000 |
| 60 | g♯′′/a♭′′ | G♯5/A♭5 | 830.609 |
| 59 | g′′ | G5 | 783.991 |
| 58 | f♯′′/g♭′′ | F♯5/G♭5 | 739.989 |
| 57 | f′′ | F5 | 698.456 |
| 56 | e′′ | E5 | 659.255 |
| 55 | d♯′′/e♭′′ | D♯5/E♭5 | 622.254 |
| 54 | d′′ | D5 | 587.330 |
| 53 | c♯′′/d♭′′ | C♯5/D♭5 | 554.365 |
| 52 | c′′ (2-line 8ve) | C5 (Tenor C) | 523.251 |
| 51 | b′ | B4 | 493.883 |
| 50 | a♯′/b♭′ | A♯4/B♭4 | 466.164 |
| 49 | a′ | A4 (A440) | 440.000 |
| 48 | g♯′/a♭′ | G♯4/A♭4 | 415.305 |
| 47 | g′ | G4 | 391.995 |
| 46 | f♯′/g♭′ | F♯4/G♭4 | 369.994 |
| 45 | f′ | F4 | 349.228 |
| 44 | e′ | E4 | 329.628 |
| 43 | d♯′/e♭′ | D♯4/E♭4 | 311.127 |
| 42 | d′ | D4 | 293.665 |
| 41 | c♯′/d♭′ | C♯4/D♭4 | 277.183 |
| 40 | c′ (1-line 8ve) | C4 (Middle C) | 261.626 |
| 39 | b | B3 | 246.942 |
| 38 | a♯/b♭ | A♯3/B♭3 | 233.082 |
| 37 | a | A3 | 220.000 |
| 36 | g♯/a♭ | G♯3/A♭3 | 207.652 |
| 35 | g | G3 | 195.998 |
| 34 | f♯/g♭ | F♯3/G♭3 | 184.997 |
| 33 | f | F3 | 174.614 |
| 32 | e | E3 | 164.814 |
| 31 | d♯/e♭ | D♯3/E♭3 | 155.563 |
| 30 | d | D3 | 146.832 |
| 29 | c♯/d♭ | C♯3/D♭3 | 138.591 |
| 28 | c (small 8ve) | C3 (Low C) | 130.813 |
| 27 | B | B2 | 123.471 |
| 26 | A♯/B♭ | A♯2/B♭2 | 116.541 |
| 25 | A | A2 | 110.000 |
| 24 | G♯/A♭ | G♯2/A♭2 | 103.826 |
| 23 | G | G2 | 97.9989 |
| 22 | F♯/G♭ | F♯2/G♭2 | 92.4986 |
| 21 | F | F2 | 87.3071 |
| 20 | E | E2 | 82.4069 |
| 19 | D♯/E♭ | D♯2/E♭2 | 77.7817 |
| 18 | D | D2 | 73.4162 |
| 17 | C♯/D♭ | C♯2/D♭2 | 69.2957 |
| 16 | C (great 8ve) | C2 (Deep C) | 65.4064 |
| 15 | Bˌ | B1 | 61.7354 |
| 14 | A♯ˌ/B♭ˌ | A♯1/B♭1 | 58.2705 |
| 13 | Aˌ | A1 | 55.0000 |
| 12 | G♯ˌ/A♭ˌ | G♯1/A♭1 | 51.9130 |
| 11 | Gˌ | G1 | 48.9995 |
| 10 | F♯ˌ/G♭ˌ | F♯1/G♭1 | 46.2493 |
| 9 | Fˌ | F1 | 43.6536 |
| 8 | Eˌ | E1 | 41.2035 |
| 7 | D♯ˌ/E♭ˌ | D♯1/E♭1 | 38.8909 |
| 6 | Dˌ | D1 | 36.7081 |
| 5 | C♯ˌ/D♭ˌ | C♯1/D♭1 | 34.6479 |
| 4 | Cˌ (contra-8ve) | C1 (Pedal C) | 32.7032 |
| 3 | Bˌˌ | B0 | 30.8677 |
| 2 | A♯ˌˌ/B♭ˌˌ | A♯0/B♭0 | 29.1353 |
| 1 | Aˌˌ (sub-contra-8ve) | A0 (Double Pedal A) | 27.5000 |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Piano frequency table.pl — A small GFDL perl script containing the information from the table on this page in a perl data structure.
- interactive piano frequency table — A php script allowing the reference pitch of A4 to be altered from 440 Hz.
- PySynth — A simple Python-based software synthesizer that prints the key frequencies table and then creates a few demo songs based on that table.
