Frequency ranges for common sounds? at DVinfo.net

Michael Pulcinella · January 3rd, 2007, 02:10 PM

What are the frequency ranges for sounds like:

Male voice
Female voice
Air conditioner hum
Flourescent light hum
Car engine
etc?

If there were a chart for the ranges of these kinds of thing I think it would make audio adjustment much easier. (I use Final Cut Express.) I currently use trial and error and have a rough idea of the ranges but have not been able to find definitive numbers.

Douglas Spotted Eagle · January 3rd, 2007, 02:18 PM

http://www.digido.com/images/product...ion.lowres.jpg
has a nice little hand-drawn chart. Not as detailed as you're asking, but much of what you're asking is completely variable. Airconditioning? Depends on motor speed, duct size, temperature, and room.
AC hum? Always at 50/60Hz with stacked harmonics.

Michael Pulcinella · January 3rd, 2007, 02:45 PM

I found what I was looking for! Maybe this will be helpful to others.

ARCHETYPAL FREQUENCIES

200,000 Dolphins highest range

18,500 Highest frequency heard by average woman

17,500 Highest frequency heard by average man

15,700 High frequency that old televisions scream at is 15,700 hertz.

5k-8K Treble control on a stereo

4096 Highest note on a piano

4096 Quartz crystal (786,432 hertz octavized down)

4000 The most irritating or activating frequency (chainsaw freq) (approximate)

3000 Frequency that telephones are centered around (voice consonants)

432 Frequency of the first cry of the average baby just out of the womb

268.8 Ali Akbar Khan’s favorite frequency to tune to

266 Good for Nervous System

256 Physical and Scientific mean - Philosopher’s middle C

250 Main resonant freq’s of the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid

250 Average Voice (Common to everyone)

136.102 Frequency of the rotation of the earth

111 Good frequency for Cell rejuvenation

85 Beethoven’s Fire frequency

50 Main harmonic of a kitty purr; Hummingbird approximate wing speed

45 Resonant frequency of bones

40 Thunder’s key fundamental frequency

40-80 Bass control on a stereo

32 Lowest C note on a piano (good for the nervous system)

25 Cat Purr (root frequency)

25 Lowest frequency that most people can hear

16 Main low freq put out by Whales (extremely on-pitch, in-tune)

11 Energy between pillars

10.666 Average ultrawave healing frequency

8 Lowest frequency put out by Whales

7.83 Shumann Resonance of the earth’s atmosphere between the earth and ionosphere
(electromagnetic, not sound)

7.8125 Spherics controlling the weather

3-4 Lowest frequency put out by Elephants

62.5 BPM = Good Heart BPM (because it’s a lower octave 250)

72 BPM = Average Heart BPM

FREQUENCY RANGES

LOW BASS - < 40 Hertz
This range is sometimes called the “sub-bass.” It is commonly found in Rap Booms and the low bass of Kick Drums and Bass Guitars. It is difficult for many people to discern pitch very well at this range. This range is often used in movies for earthquakes, rumble, and explosions.

BASS - 40 - 150 Hertz
40 - 60 hertz is the approximate range that is boosted when you turn up the “bass” tone control on a stereo.

OOOHZONE - 150 - 800 Hertz
This range is called the oohzone (pronounced “ooh” as in “boo”) because if you boost this range it makes you say “ewwwwh” with disgust. This range is also referred to as the “oohzone” because if you put your hand on your chest and say “oooooooooohhhh”, you notice that this frequency resonates your chest cavity. This means that your chest cavity is boosting the volume of this frequency range. Since this frequency range is so annoying, it makes us overly sensitive to frequencies boosted too much here!

When frequencies are boosted too much in this range, they sound extremely muddy and unclear, and can even cause extreme fatigue when not evened out. You often find that everybody in the room starts getting a bit irritated.

MIDRANGES - 800 - 5000 Hertz
The thing about the midrange is we are extremely hypersensitive to this frequency. Boosting a frequency 1 decibel in this range is like boosting 3 decibel in any other frequency range. You see, this is where we live most of the time. This is where most of our language is centered. In fact, the telephone is centered around 3000 hertz because we can still understand someone when only this range is present. Since we are so overly sensitive to this range, it is critical to be careful when boosting or cutting any frequencies here. This is doubly true on vocals because we are also hypersensitive to what vocals are supposed to sound like.

Other notable frequencies in this range include 1000 hertz, which is that tone you hear when you fall asleep at night with the TV on (and the station goes off the air leaving this test tone). Four thousand hertz is the chain saw frequency. It is the most irritating frequency there is, by far. It is also the frequency of finger nails on a chalk board -- Eeeek!!!

HIGHS - 5000 - 8000 Hertz
This range is the range that is boosted when you turn up the “treble” tone control on a stereo. It is commonly boosted in mastering to make things sound brighter and more present.

HI HIGHS - >8000 Hertz
This range is where you find cymbals and higher harmonics of sounds. Boosting this range a little bit on certain instruments can make the recording sound like a higher quality recording. Boosting this range too much can make it sound irritating.

Bill Ravens · January 5th, 2007, 09:35 AM

http://www.har-bal.com/frequency.php

January 3rd, 2007, 02:10 PM	#1
Michael Pulcinella Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ridley Park, PA, USA Posts: 269	Frequency ranges for common sounds? What are the frequency ranges for sounds like: Male voice Female voice Air conditioner hum Flourescent light hum Car engine etc? If there were a chart for the ranges of these kinds of thing I think it would make audio adjustment much easier. (I use Final Cut Express.) I currently use trial and error and have a rough idea of the ranges but have not been able to find definitive numbers.

January 3rd, 2007, 02:18 PM	#2
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	http://www.digido.com/images/product...ion.lowres.jpg has a nice little hand-drawn chart. Not as detailed as you're asking, but much of what you're asking is completely variable. Airconditioning? Depends on motor speed, duct size, temperature, and room. AC hum? Always at 50/60Hz with stacked harmonics. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

January 3rd, 2007, 02:45 PM	#3
Michael Pulcinella Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ridley Park, PA, USA Posts: 269	I found what I was looking for! Maybe this will be helpful to others. ARCHETYPAL FREQUENCIES 200,000 Dolphins highest range 18,500 Highest frequency heard by average woman 17,500 Highest frequency heard by average man 15,700 High frequency that old televisions scream at is 15,700 hertz. 5k-8K Treble control on a stereo 4096 Highest note on a piano 4096 Quartz crystal (786,432 hertz octavized down) 4000 The most irritating or activating frequency (chainsaw freq) (approximate) 3000 Frequency that telephones are centered around (voice consonants) 432 Frequency of the first cry of the average baby just out of the womb 268.8 Ali Akbar Khan’s favorite frequency to tune to 266 Good for Nervous System 256 Physical and Scientific mean - Philosopher’s middle C 250 Main resonant freq’s of the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid 250 Average Voice (Common to everyone) 136.102 Frequency of the rotation of the earth 111 Good frequency for Cell rejuvenation 85 Beethoven’s Fire frequency 50 Main harmonic of a kitty purr; Hummingbird approximate wing speed 45 Resonant frequency of bones 40 Thunder’s key fundamental frequency 40-80 Bass control on a stereo 32 Lowest C note on a piano (good for the nervous system) 25 Cat Purr (root frequency) 25 Lowest frequency that most people can hear 16 Main low freq put out by Whales (extremely on-pitch, in-tune) 11 Energy between pillars 10.666 Average ultrawave healing frequency 8 Lowest frequency put out by Whales 7.83 Shumann Resonance of the earth’s atmosphere between the earth and ionosphere (electromagnetic, not sound) 7.8125 Spherics controlling the weather 3-4 Lowest frequency put out by Elephants 62.5 BPM = Good Heart BPM (because it’s a lower octave 250) 72 BPM = Average Heart BPM FREQUENCY RANGES LOW BASS - < 40 Hertz This range is sometimes called the “sub-bass.” It is commonly found in Rap Booms and the low bass of Kick Drums and Bass Guitars. It is difficult for many people to discern pitch very well at this range. This range is often used in movies for earthquakes, rumble, and explosions. BASS - 40 - 150 Hertz 40 - 60 hertz is the approximate range that is boosted when you turn up the “bass” tone control on a stereo. OOOHZONE - 150 - 800 Hertz This range is called the oohzone (pronounced “ooh” as in “boo”) because if you boost this range it makes you say “ewwwwh” with disgust. This range is also referred to as the “oohzone” because if you put your hand on your chest and say “oooooooooohhhh”, you notice that this frequency resonates your chest cavity. This means that your chest cavity is boosting the volume of this frequency range. Since this frequency range is so annoying, it makes us overly sensitive to frequencies boosted too much here! When frequencies are boosted too much in this range, they sound extremely muddy and unclear, and can even cause extreme fatigue when not evened out. You often find that everybody in the room starts getting a bit irritated. MIDRANGES - 800 - 5000 Hertz The thing about the midrange is we are extremely hypersensitive to this frequency. Boosting a frequency 1 decibel in this range is like boosting 3 decibel in any other frequency range. You see, this is where we live most of the time. This is where most of our language is centered. In fact, the telephone is centered around 3000 hertz because we can still understand someone when only this range is present. Since we are so overly sensitive to this range, it is critical to be careful when boosting or cutting any frequencies here. This is doubly true on vocals because we are also hypersensitive to what vocals are supposed to sound like. Other notable frequencies in this range include 1000 hertz, which is that tone you hear when you fall asleep at night with the TV on (and the station goes off the air leaving this test tone). Four thousand hertz is the chain saw frequency. It is the most irritating frequency there is, by far. It is also the frequency of finger nails on a chalk board -- Eeeek!!! HIGHS - 5000 - 8000 Hertz This range is the range that is boosted when you turn up the “treble” tone control on a stereo. It is commonly boosted in mastering to make things sound brighter and more present. HI HIGHS - >8000 Hertz This range is where you find cymbals and higher harmonics of sounds. Boosting this range a little bit on certain instruments can make the recording sound like a higher quality recording. Boosting this range too much can make it sound irritating.

January 5th, 2007, 09:35 AM	#4
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	http://www.har-bal.com/frequency.php