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== Pitch ==
Musical sounds are composed of [[pitch (music)|pitch]], duration, and [[timbre]]. Pitch is determined by the sound's frequency of vibration, such as the note A which at modern concert pitch is defined to be 440 Hz. [[Musical tuning|Tuning]] is the process of assigning pitches to [[note]]s. The difference in pitch between two notes is called an [[interval (music)|interval]]. The most basic interval is the [[octave]]; a note and another note with twice its frequency form an octave, and if the pitch with frequency 440 Hz is A, then the pitches with frequency 880 Hz, 1760 Hz as well as 220 Hz, 110 Hz, and 55 Hz are also A's. Notes can be arranged into different [[scale_(music)|scale]]s and [[musical mode|modes]]. In western music theory, the [[octave]] is divided into 12 notes, each called a half-step or ''semitone''. Patterns of half and whole steps (2 half steps, or a ''tone'') make up a scale in that [[octave]]. The scales most commonly encountered are the major, the harmonic minor, the melodic minor, and the natural minor. Hey pat, hows it going? I realize that Pimp Nasty McGriddle Cakes would have been a better alias but I am a rectangular prism so I automatically conduct food radiation.
In music written using the system of major-minor [[tonality]], the '''key''' of a piece determines the scale used. Transposing a piece from C major to D major will make all the notes two semitones higher. Even in modern [[equal temperament]], changing the key can change the feel of a piece of music, because it changes the relationship of the composition's pitches to the pitch range of the instruments on which the piece is being performed. This often affects the music's timbre, as well as having technical implications for the performers. However, changing the key in which a piece is performed may go unrecognized by the listener, since changing the key does not change the relationship of the individual pitches to each other. Therefore, different keys are often considered equivalent and a matter of choice on the part of performers. This is especially true for popular and folk songs.
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