Editing Musical acoustics (section)

==Subjective aspects==

Variations in [[air]] [[pressure]] against the [[ear]] drum, and the subsequent physical and neurological processing and interpretation, give rise to the subjective experience called ''[[sound]]''. Most sound that people recognize as [[music]]al is dominated by [[Periodic function|periodic]] or regular vibrations rather than non-periodic ones; that is, musical sounds typically have a [[definite pitch]].  The transmission of these variations through air is via a sound [[wave]]. In a very simple case, the sound of a [[sine wave]], which is considered the most basic model of a sound waveform, causes the air pressure to increase and decrease in a regular fashion, and is heard as a very pure tone. Pure tones can be produced by [[tuning fork]]s or [[whistling]]. The rate at which the air pressure oscillates is the [[frequency]] of the tone, which is measured in oscillations per second, called [[hertz]]. Frequency is the primary determinant of the perceived [[Pitch (music)|pitch]]. Frequency of musical instruments can change with altitude due to changes in air pressure.