What to use for graphing sounds of instruments

[330s]

Hello,

For my physics EEI I am wanting to look at sound frequencies. What I plan to do is to get a guitar and play a note, let's say a "c natural". Then I want to play a "c sharp" and then compare the two notes. I want to be able to find the amount "beats" over a duration of say 1-2 seconds and then compare to something that is more pleasant sounding. ie. a "c" and a "g" . And find how many beats there are over 1-2 seconds. I want to find if more beats are better or less beats.

Now my problem is that I have a program, Datastudio which can pick up me playing my instrument through my computers microphone. However I can not figure how to use the program or if there is a program function that allows me to go | F2 - F1 | = Fb F being frequency, 2 and 1 being different notes of different frequencies.

Any other programs out there that can do what I am requiring please tell me about. But if there is a way to work Datastudio please help, I can't work it out.

Thanks, Will

 

[schip666!]

You don't need any thing but a calculator and this chart:
http://www.seventhstring.com/resources/notefrequencies.html
just subtract the frequencies of the two notes ... it's not so much the number of beats but the integer ratios. Also, the western tempered scale fudges all the notes such that they don't quite match up anyway, compare it with "Just Intonation".

But you may be interested in an audio spectrum analyzer. I don't remember if Audacity has one, but a quick search might find some free candidates.

 

[diazona]

Hello,

For my physics EEI I am wanting to look at sound frequencies. What I plan to do is to get a guitar and play a note, let's say a "c natural". Then I want to play a "c sharp" and then compare the two notes. I want to be able to find the amount "beats" over a duration of say 1-2 seconds and then compare to something that is more pleasant sounding. ie. a "c" and a "g" . And find how many beats there are over 1-2 seconds. I want to find if more beats are better or less beats.

Now my problem is that I have a program, Datastudio which can pick up me playing my instrument through my computers microphone. However I can not figure how to use the program or if there is a program function that allows me to go | F2 - F1 | = Fb F being frequency, 2 and 1 being different notes of different frequencies.

Any other programs out there that can do what I am requiring please tell me about. But if there is a way to work Datastudio please help, I can't work it out.

Thanks, Will

Assuming that Data Studio records the waveform of the sound and stores it as a data run (which is probably what it does), you can use the calculator dialog to define a calculated value which is the difference between your two recorded sound waves. The Calculator button is up at the top, toward the center of the toolbar, if I remember correctly.

 

[MATLABdude]

Audacity is an open source program that you can use to capture and modify / manipulate sounds. It also let's you do a frequency analysis:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features

 

[LudusRex]

Hello Will,

Thank you for your interest in exploring sound frequencies for your physics EEI. Graphing sound frequencies can be a useful tool in understanding the differences between different notes and their beats. One program that may be helpful for your project is Audacity, which is a free and open-source audio editing software. It has a feature called "Plot Spectrum" which allows you to graph the frequencies of a sound recording. You can also use the "Beat Finder" plug-in to identify the beats between two notes. Another option is to use a digital sound analyzer, such as the Sound Frequency Analyzer app, which can display the frequency spectrum of a sound recording in real-time. Whichever program you choose, make sure to properly calibrate your microphone and set up your recording environment for accurate results. I wish you all the best in your project!