Do instruments go flat or sharp when cold?
Listen to this article. Musical instruments can be greatly affected by the climate, from minor tuning issues to potential long-term damage – and every instrument responds in its own way. While wind instruments often go flat in the cold, string instruments become sharp in the same climate.
As temperature rises, the speed of sound in the air increases. This is why brass players will be sharper in the heat. Similarly, the speed of sound in the air decreases as temperature decreases. In low temperatures, a brass instrument will sound flatter.
An increase in temperature will affect the pitch of a wind instrument, resulting in a higher sound frequency due to a faster speed of sound.
Temperature changes such as extreme heat or cold, or air that is too wet or too dry are all factors that can ruin your instrument.
Temperature. If the temperature is warm, the pitch will be sharper. If the temperature is colder, the pitch will be flatter. Before playing, you must warm up your clarinet by blowing warm air into it.
These dramatic fluctuations in temperature can wreak havoc on instruments. Cold weather in particular will cause serious issues with your instrument if you are not taking proper care of it. If possible—do not leave your instrument anywhere cold. When not in use, always make sure your instrument is stored in it's case.
For stringed instruments,in hotter temperature they have to press harder on the strings to make it sharper and in colder temperature, they have to press lighter for less stress to make it flat.
Cold isn't bad for brass instruments. Just make sure you empty out the 'spit' valves before putting them up there. Water/condensation is only a little bit of a concern for them. If you haven't played them for over a year, I agree that they're probably bone dry already.
A: Yes it does. The standard linear expansion coefficient for brass is about 19x10-6 per degree C. To go from room temperature, 20oC to the temperature of liquid nitrogen, -196oC you would get an shrinkage factor of about 0.4 percent.
Because the speed of sound in air increases with rising temperature, brass and woodwind instruments tend to play sharp when the air is hot and flat when the air is cold.
How does temperature affect pitch of flute?
In a concert flute, it is open only on one side, so the wavelengths are in halves. Many musicians have discovered that the temperature in which they play their instruments affects the frequency, causing the pitch to either go down (become flat) or go up (become sharp).
In general, cold weather tends to be harder on instruments than warm weather. Because these instruments are usually made from wood; low humidity, rain or cold temperatures can cause the wood fibers to contract or shrink. This can result in cracks as well as open seams.
Stringed instruments are happiest given a constant temperature of 60 to 70 degrees and a relative humidity of 35 to 50 percent.
The plunging temperatures have an adverse effect on the violin family of instruments. Extreme conditions have the ability to loosen pegs, create unpleasant whistling sounds, and encourage cracks to develop. The reason for these detrimental changes is because in winter, the air is much drier.
If you are flat, here are two possibilities: 1) your instrument is still cold; 2) there may a problem with your equipment – mouthpiece choice; barrel length. An unfocused clarinet tone will almost always be flat.
If your tuner indicates that your clarinet is too sharp, pull the barrel to extend it and raise the pitch. If your clarinet is too flat, shorten the barrel. When adjusting the barrel, try to be gentle instead of giving sharp pulls and pushes. You'll need to experiment with the barrel length as you work on tuning notes.
Some orchestras favor a slightly higher pitch, like A=442 or higher, which some believe results in a brighter sound. If you ever played in concert band, you'll remember that you always tuned to B flat. This is because most of the band instruments are actually pitched in B flat, and so this is their natural tuning note.
Never leave a brass instrument in a hot car or in your trunk. Extreme temperatures can damage your horn. Brass instruments should be flushed out once a month to clean out any accumulation of dirt and to prevent corrosion. A good place to do this is in a bathtub.
If you have suffered from the seasonal flu or a serious virus such as COVID-19, you should not play your instrument again until you have recovered from your illness and you have had your instrument professionally cleaned. This will reduce the chance of recurrence of your symptoms or the spread of the illness to others.
The increase in temperature of the air in the instrument causes an increase in the speed of sound, which raises the fundamental frequencies of the air columns. As a result, the wind instruments go sharp.
How does temperature affect violin?
In the case of the violin, for example, warmer weather changes the amount of friction between the bow and the strings, changing the way the bow pulls on each string. Warm weather also tends to expand instruments and thus alter their ability to withstand tension, which again changes their interaction with a musician.
Brass Section
The ambient storage conditions are also important. While metal is less susceptible to environmental conditions than wood, extreme heat and humidity can cause a brass instrument to shrink or expand.
For a range of different instruments, extreme cold, extreme heat, and humidity, can have devastating effects. For example, extreme temperature and moisture can cause brass instruments to expand and shrink, while extreme temperatures can cause the key pads on woodwinds and drum heads to dry out and crack.
To best protect your instrument, look for steady and moderate temperatures. Musical instruments of all types do well in temperatures of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, at humidity levels of between 40-60%.
String instruments have strings that are played with a horsehair bow (i.e. viola, violin, cello) to make sound and wind instruments (i.e. flute, trumpet, baritone) need wind from a human being to make sound.
Metals that are typically ductile at room temperature may lose that in the colder temperature and become stiffer. Brittle transition temperature is the temperature where fractures in steel change from ductile to brittle. In other words, instead of bending, it breaks.
When the metal freezes, all the metal shrinks, so the hole gets bigger.
When it is cold the kinetic energy decreases, so the atoms take up less space and the material contracts. Some metals expand more than others due to differences in the forces between the atoms / molecules.
Regular freezing temperature won't hurt (change) metal or nylon strings. Just taking them inside and out of the package should be plenty of time for them to warm up, although putting them on cold shouldn't make a difference other than a short time for tuning stability.
Low humidity level can cause your guitar to warp and crack, and this is something that often occurs in the fall and winter months – as humidity levels drop and the mercury dives south with the falling temperatures.
How does temperature affect a guitar?
How Does Temperature Affect A Guitar? As temperature increases, the woods used in the construction of a guitar will expand. Conversely, as temperature decreases, the woods will contract. This process can result in warping and distortion of the wood, which could potentially lead to permanent and irreparable damage!
The resonant lengths of air columns are directly related to the wavelength of the sound inside the column. However, if the temperature changes, then the speed of sound changes, which in turn changes the wavelength of sound.
As it gets hotter, velocity goes up and would tend to drive the frequency (pitch) up, so we pull out the slide to increase the wavelength of the tube (trumpet) and get everything back in line.
Flute Pipe Length - YouTube
As the wind instruments are played, they fill with warm air from the player's exhalation. The increase in temperature of the air in the instrument causes an increase in the speed of sound, which raises the fundamental frequencies of the air columns. As a result, the wind instruments go sharp.
When an instrument is out of tune it means that the naturally played pitch of the instrument is either too high or too low. If the pitch is too high, it is considered sharp, if it is too low, then it is flat.
A: Yes it does. The standard linear expansion coefficient for brass is about 19x10-6 per degree C. To go from room temperature, 20oC to the temperature of liquid nitrogen, -196oC you would get an shrinkage factor of about 0.4 percent.
In the case of the violin, for example, warmer weather changes the amount of friction between the bow and the strings, changing the way the bow pulls on each string. Warm weather also tends to expand instruments and thus alter their ability to withstand tension, which again changes their interaction with a musician.
In a concert flute, it is open only on one side, so the wavelengths are in halves. Many musicians have discovered that the temperature in which they play their instruments affects the frequency, causing the pitch to either go down (become flat) or go up (become sharp).
For stringed instruments,in hotter temperature they have to press harder on the strings to make it sharper and in colder temperature, they have to press lighter for less stress to make it flat.
How do I know if I'm flat or sharp?
These tell you to change the pitch of the original note. A sharp symbol looks like this: ♯ (similar to, but not the same as, the 'hashtag' symbol # on social media). A flat symbol looks like this:♭(similar to a lowercase b). Occasionally, notes can also be double-sharp or double-flat.
How to tell if your instrument is flat or sharp - YouTube