General Acoustics

Frequency Range of Vocals and Musical Instruments Vocal Woodwind Brass Strings Keyboards Percussion VOCAL Approximate Frequency Range Soprano 250Hz – 1K Contralto 200Hz – 700Hz Baritone 110Hz – 425Hz Bass 80Hz – 350Hz WOODWIND Top Piccolo 630Hz – 5K Flute 250Hz – 2.5K Oboe 250Hz – 1.5K Clarinet (B flat or A) 125Hz – 2K Clarinet (E flat) 200Hz – 2K Bass Clarinet 75Hz – 800Hz Basset Horn 90Hz – 1K Cor Anglais 160Hz – 1K Bassoon 55Hz – 575Hz Double Bassoon 25Hz – 200Hz Soprano Saxophone 225Hz – 1K Alto Saxophone 125Hz – 900Hz Tenor Saxophone 110Hz – 630Hz Baritone Saxophone 70Hz – 450Hz Bass Saxophone 55Hz – 315Hz BRASS Top Trumpet (C) 170Hz – 1K Trumpet (F) 300Hz – 1K Alto Trombone 110Hz – 630Hz Tenor Trombone 80Hz – 600Hz Bass Trombone 63Hz – 400Hz Tuba 45Hz – 375Hz Valve Horn 63Hz – 700Hz STRINGS Top Violin 200Hz – 3.5K Viola 125Hz -1K Cello 63Hz – 630Hz Double Bass 40Hz – 200Hz Guitar 80Hz – 630Hz KEYBOARDS Top Piano 28Hz – 4.1K Organ 20Hz – 7K PERCUSSION Top Celeste 260Hz – 3.5K Timpani 90Hz – 180Hz Glockenspiel 63Hz – 180Hz Xylophone 700Hz – 3.5K Typical Sound Pressure Levels Sound Pressure (N/m2) Sound Pressure Level (dB) Environment Description 200 140 Military Aircraft Taking Off Intolerable 63 130 Pneumatic Drill Very Loud 20 120 Ships Engine Room 6.3 110 Factory 6.3 X 10-1 90 Heavy Lorry (6m) 2 X 10-1 80 Busy Road (kerbside) Loud 2 X 10-2 60 Restaurant Noisy 6.3 X 10-3 50 Conversational Speech Quiet 2 X 10-3 40 Nightime (residential area) 2 X 10-5 0 Normal Hearing Threshold Reverberation Targets Reverb time Function Only Speech 0.6 – 1.2 secs Lecture/Conference Halls Speakers (trained) 1.0 – 1.4 secs Theatres Reproduced Sound 0.8 – 1.2 secs Cinemas Multi-purpose use 1.0 – 1.5 secs Multi- purpose Halls Opera 1.0 – 1.6 secs Opera Houses Solo Instruments 1.2 – 1.6 secs Recital Halls Orchestras 1.6 – 2.2 secs Concert Halls Choirs/Organs 2.0 – 4.0 secs Churches Musical Range and Frequency (Piano Keyboard Equal Temperament) Note 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A 28Hz 55Hz 110Hz 220Hz 440Hz 880Hz 1.760K 3.520K B 31Hz 62Hz 123Hz 247Hz 494Hz 987Hz 1.974K 3.949K C 33Hz 65Hz 131Hz 262Hz 523Hz 1.47K 2.093K 4.186K D 37Hz 73Hz 147Hz 294Hz 587Hz 1.175K 2.350K E 41Hz 82Hz 165Hz 330Hz 659Hz 1.318K 2.637K F 44Hz 87Hz 175Hz 349Hz 698Hz 1.397K 2.794K G 49Hz 98Hz 196Hz 392Hz 784Hz 1.568K 3.136K