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    Frederik Magle
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Lowest frequencies

Ron Hartigan

New member
I'm new, so I don't know where the thread is that I was reading about the lowest frequency on a pipe organ. I have an incredible story; actually several, but maybe not related to this thread.

After 50 years of riding a motorcycle on freeways and surface streets, and 4 years on a noisy aircraft carrier, I am a bit hard of hearing; for at least the last 10 years.

About 5 years ago I was listening to music I found on the internet; have good speakers and sub-woofer on my desk. Being a Christian, I latched onto one of my favorite songs performed by the Morgan State University Choir, accompanied by a pipe organ. Although I played many instruments from 6th grade up into the US Navy, a never mastered any, and never studied music theory.

As I listened to "How Great Thou Art," I said to myself, that lowest note on the organ must be 17 Hz. I had absolutely no way of knowing this for a fact, but my brain just sensed that many oscillations in the tone. No, it was not just "feeling" the vibration; I swear, I heard it.

Soon after that I was discussing the experience with a student teacher's assistant of mine at my high school. She was the president of the orchestra club, and very well accomplished on the contra-bass. We decided to google the formula for determining the frequency for musical notes, realizing that it is not a linear progression.

When we looked up the frequency for the lowest note on a pipe organ I was absolutely SHOCKED, and elated, that I got it, basically, right; 16.31 Hz. How much closer could a person get???? I have absolutely no training or experience that would cause that. My late wife and current girl friend tell me I cannot sing, at all, or carry a tune to speak of. But I know I nailed that frequency.

Wikipedia says the lower limit of normal hearing is about 20 Hz, and does not provide a sample below 31 Hz.

There is something ??? spiritual, magic, or something, when I hear certain songs; this is one of them. One reason I cannot sing in church is because the songs I know and like instantly choke me up so bad that I physically cannot sing a note. "How Great Thou Art," "Amazing Grace," bag pipes playing at a funeral, and others.

Well, the story goes on, but I hope you all enjoyed reading this and have comments about my experience.

Ron Hartigan
 

John Watt

Member
Ron Hartigan! This top line is a beginning, saying the rest is a cut and paste from the previous thread you mention here.

Ron Hartigan! While I appreciate the enthusiasm of your posting here,
I'm going to have to be lowering more than my notes to maybe bring you down a little,
but I looked here thinking Corno Dolce was back and was adding to a thread he began.
You are adding to a post that was put up in 2008.

Human beings, especially whites with ancestors who went through the Dark Ages,
think of life mostly in terms of themselves, more than other peoples of the world.
Human senses have a very small range, more about being in the flesh, than scientific.
The rest of the universe, even the senses of other creatures on this earth,
are far more dynamic, have a greater spread along sensatory paths,
but even they aren't part of the eternal flow the exists beyond all of us.

That's easy to say, and could be seen as a generic approach, so let me be specific.

You are describing notes at 17Hz, and then 16.31 Hz, with previous mentions of Hertz that actually hurts.
You know what began as meditative, new age music, often featured the sounds of humpback whales,
and then humpback whales had recording success on their own, even if they didn't get paid,
or even get a few tons of left-over fish dumped in front of them.
Are humpback whales really singing, or are they emitting frequencies?

And no, you don't have to be a former Marineland employee with training to get into that.

Now we are back to new font.
As the musician I am, and that includes growing up in the church choir my parents were founding members of,
I could go on about you typing "and like instantly choke me up so bad that I physically cannot sing a note".
That's understandable to me, and needs to be worked out, but that's too much to keep typing about,
considering my previous comments.

But let me finish with this.
The previous thread where you posted first, the last posting there was made in 2008.
Starting your own thread here is more appropriate for you and me right now.
Some musicians find that their legs lock up onstage, until they get into it.
You should be happy you have such a strong physical reaction to music.
That shows you how far you can get into it.

When "Adam and Eve", symbolic of the origins of the Jewish tribes,
were disenfranchised from the "Garden of Eden",
mankind was given three talents to help them cope with life on earth,
knowing the foods of the earth and farming, using wood and carpentry,
and with Jubal as our host, music and scalar instrument building.
How "something ??? spiritual, magic, or something" that can be,
the heavens certainly are the limit.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Welcome to the forum Ron :)

Enjoyed reading about your experience with the low frequency of the pipe organ. That low frequency would relate to a pipe that would be 32 feet in length. The longest pipe is 64' which when played alone has the sound of the flatulence of an elephant (as a member described this a few years back. That pipe rank is in Sydney Australia.

Seldom do most church organs here have anything lower than a 16' pipe ... in some installations the 32' sound is created digitally with an amp and some beefed up speaker(s).
 

John Watt

Member
I'm visiting first to see if Ron Hartigan came back to expand on things he said,
seeing many things to be truly expansive about.
And this from a musician who knows it's better to be stereo wider, than artificially higher.

Hey Ron! Let's get it on!
 
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