Sounds are the result of air vibrating, and if they’re reproduced at, say, twice the speed that they were originally recorded at, the vibrations hit our ear twice as many times per second – i.e. twice the original frequency, which makes them sound higher in pitch.
In the case of musical notes, doubling the speed raises the pitch of each note by an octave. Some records exploit this effect, with trumpet players being recorded at half-speed so that when replayed at the right speed, they sound like they’re hitting really high notes perfectly.
Read more:
- Why have dogs evolved to hear higher pitches than us?
- Why does the clinking sound go down in pitch when I stir sugar into my coffee?
- Why do we raise our voice pitch when we speak to babies?
- What’s the loudest a sound can be?
Authors
Robert is a science writer and visiting professor of science at Aston University. He likes maths, West End musicals and hamsters.
