A tuning fork is.. The sound of a tuning fork. A tuning fork for tuning musical instruments

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The sound of a tuning fork helps to tune musical instruments, which allows them to be played correctly. You can, of course, rely on your own hearing, but it will be more reliable to double-check.

About musical instruments

The need for creativity appeared in people a very long time ago. This is how the first musical instruments began to appear. Of course, at first they were extremely primitive, but over time they became more complicated. And at some point it turned out that for convenience they need to be brought to a certain standard, especially if they have a different design. So there was a need for a universal reference point. Knowing one note, you can build the rest, but where can you get it from? In search of a solution to this problem, a device was invented, which is sometimes also referred to as musical instruments. You can't do without it if you need to tune a piano or grand piano, so it's not easy to find a replacement.

What is a tuning fork?

Those who have pianos at home sometimes call a tuner to make sure the instrument is not out of tune. And then you can see a strange curved wand in the hands of the master. In fact, this device may look different, but its purpose is always the same.and also. A tuning fork is a device that emits the note "la" of the first octave. Focusing on this sound, you can build all the other notes.

Each musical instrument has its own characteristics and principle of operation. There are also factors that disrupt proper functioning - for brass and strings, this can be inaccurate movement, sudden changes in temperature, etc. Therefore, a tuning fork is an indispensable thing for every musician that allows you to quickly put everything in order. No wonder it was invented, because it was so badly needed. This gave impetus to the development of ideas for performing the same pieces with a large number of very different musical instruments, because now it was easy to harmonize their sound.

By the way, "tuning fork" is a German word, although it does not mean exactly that. It translates as "room sound", and the musical instrument in question is called Stimmgabel in Germany.

History of emergence and development

For the first time, the tuning fork was invented by the English court musician John Shore. He was a trumpeter and apparently had a good understanding of the laws of physics, in particular acoustics. The plate vibration frequency for the note "la" at that moment was 119.9 Hertz. This is how the tuning fork was born. Photos of old specimens are very interesting, because today you rarely see such a device in life. It looked like a two-pronged metal fork that needed to be struck against something in order for it to start publishingsound.

Over time, the appearance of the tuning fork changed, varieties appeared with a wooden box that served as a resonator. In addition, the oscillation frequency of the device gradually increased. Today, for the note "la" of the first octave, it is 440 Hertz.

Modern varieties

Today, musicians can choose from a huge variety of tuning forks. They can be made in the form of a metal fork, pipe or whistle. They can also make sounds of different pitches, the most popular are "la", "mi" and "do". Sometimes these are even several tones at a time - guitarists and violinists often use such devices, since the classical tuning for each of these instruments is the same.

Besides this, in recent years, a large number of electronic tuning forks, which are called tuners, and applications and sites on this topic have appeared. So it is difficult for a modern musician not to be able to tune his musical instrument - there will always be an opportunity to push off from the main tone. By the way, the tuning fork is a serious help for the choir, especially if the singing takes place without music - "a cappella". The singers in this case are guided by the sound of the standard tone, but do not forget about the compatibility of their voices.

There is a tuning fork for every specific goal. For a guitar, it can contain all six notes for open strings, for violin and cello it can contain four, etc. This greatly simplifies the tuning process. But no matter how it looks and no matter what it was intended for - in any caseThe tuning fork works according to the laws of physics.

Working principle

Probably most of the school physics course remembers that sounds are caused by vibrations. And this case is, of course, no exception. A tuning fork for a guitar, piano or any other instrument works on the same principle - some action sets the plate in motion. She, in turn, oscillates and emits a tone of one or another pitch. The device creates harmonic waves, which means that the resulting sound of the tuning fork is very clear. In addition, it is not affected by the ambient temperature.

By the way, most tuning forks are quite compact, and there is also a physical reason for this. The fact is that the larger it is, the lower the sound it makes, even if the other parameters are the same.

Special Species

There is another type of tuning fork, which is important not to be confused with the rest, as they are used in completely different cases. We are talking about a medical tuning fork, which is needed by otolaryngologists, orthopedists and neurologists to study the characteristics of the conduction of sounds through the patient's bones.

This device also serves to determine the response to vibration. With its help, diseases such as pallisthesia or polyneuropathy, which occurs, for example, in diabetes mellitus, can be detected. This device is called a tuning fork not only for its similar appearance, but also, of course, for a similar principle of operation.

In a figurative sense, this word is also used, for example, by psychologists. They sometimes offer theirpatients to find the "internal tuning fork", that is, the core, support, basis of personality.

About interesting things

In symphony orchestras, where the number of different musical instruments is simply huge, the tuning fork is not such a frequent guest. Usually the tuning is done according to the oboe - almost nothing affects its sound. However, if the performance uses a grand piano, then first it is tuned in accordance with

tuning fork, and the rest of the instruments are already regulated by it. Even if some mistake happens, the whole orchestra will sound in harmony, and perhaps the audience will not even notice the flaw.

Guitar Tuning

This musical instrument remains extremely common among non-professional performers. Of course, this is a classical six-string guitar. When it's new or has had its strings recently changed, it needs to be tuned frequently. And later, after inaccurate movement and as a result of temperature changes, you may need to correct its sound.

If you have a special tuning fork for the guitar at hand, the task is greatly simplified, because each published note corresponds to a separate string. But if only the classic variety is available, you will have to work a little and strain your hearing. The sound emitted by the tuning fork should correspond to the tone of the first string, clamped at the fifth fret. When this is achieved, you can continue. For this, eachthe next string is clamped at the fifth fret, tuned in unison with the previous one. It's not difficult, but it takes some practice. The only exception is the third, for which the third fret is used.

By the way, if the guitarist doesn't have a tuning fork, then you can listen to ordinary telephone beeps, they also correspond to the note "A". You can also adjust the strings of violin, cello and similar instruments yourself. Well, tuning a piano or grand piano is so complicated that it is better to entrust this matter to professionals.