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Are
you tone deaf? Do you have perfect pitch? This exhibit demonstrates
the surprising difficulty of remembering and matching a musical
note. The visitor is provided with a reference tone as well
as a second tone which can be adjusted with the use of a knob.
The challenge is to hear the reference tone and then match
the frequencies of the two tones based on the memory of that
first tone. When listening to the tones together, one can
hear fluctuations in loudness called beats. The greater the
number of beats per second the farther apart the two tones
are in frequency. These beats help musicians tune their instruments
by enabling them to detect tiny differences in pitch by ear
and make the appropriate adjustments.
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