History of pitch standards in Western music
Hey there kiddo! Did you know that music has been around for a really long time? And did you know that the way we tune our instruments has also changed over time?
Back in the olden days, people used something called "just intonation" to tune their instruments. This meant that they used math and ratios to figure out the best way to tune each note, based on the key they were playing in. But this made it really hard to play in different keys, because the tuning would change each time.
So then, musicians started to use something called "equal temperament". This means that they divided the octave (which is the distance between two notes with the same name, like from one C to the next C) into 12 equal parts, and called each of those parts a "half-step". This made it easy to play in any key, because the same relative distances between notes were always used.
But here's the thing - not everyone used the same pitch for the note A. Some people might tune it to sound higher or lower than others. This made it really hard for musicians to play together, because their instruments might not sound the same!
That's why people decided they needed a standard pitch. In 1939, an organization called the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided that the note A should be tuned to 440 Hz (which means it vibrates 440 times per second). This became the standard pitch for western music.
Nowadays, most musicians use this standard pitch so that they know they will sound the same as other musicians they play with. But some people still like to use other pitches, or tune their instruments a little differently, because it sounds different and interesting!
So that's the ELI5 version of the history of pitch standards in western music. I hope you enjoyed it!
Back in the olden days, people used something called "just intonation" to tune their instruments. This meant that they used math and ratios to figure out the best way to tune each note, based on the key they were playing in. But this made it really hard to play in different keys, because the tuning would change each time.
So then, musicians started to use something called "equal temperament". This means that they divided the octave (which is the distance between two notes with the same name, like from one C to the next C) into 12 equal parts, and called each of those parts a "half-step". This made it easy to play in any key, because the same relative distances between notes were always used.
But here's the thing - not everyone used the same pitch for the note A. Some people might tune it to sound higher or lower than others. This made it really hard for musicians to play together, because their instruments might not sound the same!
That's why people decided they needed a standard pitch. In 1939, an organization called the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) decided that the note A should be tuned to 440 Hz (which means it vibrates 440 times per second). This became the standard pitch for western music.
Nowadays, most musicians use this standard pitch so that they know they will sound the same as other musicians they play with. But some people still like to use other pitches, or tune their instruments a little differently, because it sounds different and interesting!
So that's the ELI5 version of the history of pitch standards in western music. I hope you enjoyed it!