B Difference between note, tone and mode

[donaldparida]

In physics, wave mechanics and vibration specifically, do the terms note, tone and mode mean the same thing or do they refer to difference things? Also what does the mode of oscillation exactly mean?

 

[phinds]

In physics, wave mechanics and vibration specifically, do the terms note, tone and mode mean the same thing or do they refer to difference things?

I don't think those are physics terms, they are music terms. Physics terms are frequency, amplitude, wavelength, etc.

 

[donaldparida]

I am asking the difference between them from a physics perspective.

 

[Vanadium 50]

They are still music terms.

 

[jtbell]

IIRC a "tone" in music is a pure frequency in physics. A "note" produced by a musical instrument, e.g. by plucking a string, is a complex superposition of pure tones: the fundamental and its various overtones. Their relative amplitudes determine the "timbre" of the sound which distinguishes the various instruments. A "mode" in music is a type of "scale" (sequence of allowable notes). This is different from a "mode" in physics, which usually means a "mode of vibration" or "mode of oscillation", i.e. a particular standing-wave pattern on a string, drumhead, etc.