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Why can someone hear a wrong note but struggle to sing the right one?

You may hear that a sung note is wrong and still struggle to produce the right one yourself. Listening and singing require different operations: detecting a pitch, remembering it, and translating it into a vocal action. Experiments on pitch imitation suggest that difficulties in those steps need not occur together.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What would separate a difficulty hearing a pitch from a difficulty producing it?

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Why do a flute and a violin sound different on the same note?

Music and sound4–5 minTwo instruments can play the same pitch without sounding alike. The balance of frequencies and the way a note begins help create its timbre, so one number does not describe the whole sound.

Music and sound

Who performs the footsteps you hear in a film?

Some screen sounds are performed again during post-production to fit the picture. Foley combines a choice of sound with a choice of timing, so the most useful prop need not be the object shown on screen.

5–7 min

Who performs the footsteps you hear in a film?

Music and sound5–7 minSome screen sounds are performed again during post-production to fit the picture. Foley combines a choice of sound with a choice of timing, so the most useful prop need not be the object shown on screen.

Music and sound

Why can six eighth notes have two different beats?

Six equal subdivisions can be grouped as three pairs or two groups of three. In conventional Western notation, that helps explain the different organization of 3/4 and 6/8 even when the total note value matches.

3–5 min

Why can six eighth notes have two different beats?

Music and sound3–5 minSix equal subdivisions can be grouped as three pairs or two groups of three. In conventional Western notation, that helps explain the different organization of 3/4 and 6/8 even when the total note value matches.

Why can someone hear a wrong note but struggle to sing the right one? | Speech Topic | speaking.app