Pitch
The ear's ordering of frequency — not frequency itself
Related
Pitch is the ear's sense of order over frequency: the higher the frequency, the higher it sounds. But it is not frequency itself — hearing is non-linear, and how far apart two notes seem depends on their ratio, not on the difference in hertz.
Pitch is not an isolated point either: a musical tone contains a fundamental and overtones, and the ear selects one of them as the "dominant" pitch. The same frequency can sound slightly higher or lower under a different timbre and loudness. Pitch is an auditory event, not a meter reading.
Read deeper → Pitch
Sources
- 音高与频率、听觉的非线性关系，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Pitch"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.