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Note to Hz (Frequency) Converter

Use this note to Hz converter to find the exact frequency of any musical note and octave using 12-tone equal temperament. Adjustable A4 reference tuning (380–480 Hz), audio playback, MIDI number, wavelength, and a full note-frequency reference table.

Input

Hz
380440480
A4 = 440.0 Hz (current reference)
Quick Presets

Result

C4
Frequency
Hz
Bass
MIDI Number
Period (T = 1/f)
Wavelength in Air
Octaves from A4
Equal-Temperament Formula
f = A4 × 2^((MIDI − 69) / 12)
λ = c / f   (c = 343 m/s in air at 20°C)

Note & Frequency Reference (A4 = 440 Hz)

OctaveC (Hz)A (Hz)MIDI RangeNotable Notes
016.35227.50012 – 23A0 = lowest piano note (27.5 Hz). Below most speech and music.
132.70355.00024 – 35Pedal C (32.7 Hz). Bass guitar low E is E1 = 41.2 Hz.
265.406110.00036 – 47Bass guitar mid range. Cello low C = C2 = 65.4 Hz.
3130.813220.00048 – 59Guitar low E = E2 (82.4 Hz, octave 2). Tenor voice range.
4261.626440.00060 – 71Middle C (C4) = 261.63 Hz. Concert A4 = 440 Hz.
5523.251880.00072 – 83Soprano upper range. High soprano C = C5.
61,046.5021,760.00084 – 95Violin upper range, "whistle register" in human voice.
72,093.0053,520.00096 – 107Past most acoustic instruments. Piccolo top notes.
84,186.0097,040.000108 – 119C8 = highest piano note (4,186 Hz). Mostly synthesizer territory.

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About Notes, Frequencies & A4 Reference

Western music uses 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET): every octave is divided into 12 equally-spaced semitones, where each semitone is the 12th root of 2 times the frequency of the previous one (a ratio of ~1.0595). Doubling the frequency moves up exactly one octave; halving it moves down one.

A4 = 440 Hz as the modern standard

The concert pitch A4 = 440 Hz was standardised by ISO 16:1975. Almost all modern orchestras and recorded music tune to this reference. Some orchestras still use A4 = 442 or 443 Hz for a slightly brighter sound. Historical "baroque pitch" was around A4 = 415 Hz — roughly a semitone below modern pitch.

The MIDI number system

MIDI assigns each note an integer: Middle C (C4) = 60, A4 = 69, the lowest piano note A0 = 21, the highest piano note C8 = 108. The full MIDI range is 0 (C-1, ~8.18 Hz) to 127 (G9, ~12,544 Hz). The MIDI to Hz formula f = A4 × 2^((MIDI − 69) / 12) lets you compute any note from its MIDI number — for example, the middle C frequency (MIDI 60) works out to 261.63 Hz at the standard A4 = 440 Hz reference.

Enharmonic equivalents share the same frequency

In 12-TET, enharmonic equivalents — note pairs like C#4 and D♭4, or F#4 and G♭4 — are spelled differently but occupy exactly the same MIDI number and therefore produce the exact same frequency. For example, C#4 / D♭4 = MIDI 61 = 277.18 Hz at A4 = 440 Hz. This is unique to equal temperament; in just intonation and meantone temperaments, C# and D♭ were genuinely different pitches (the comma difference could be 20+ cents).

Cents: the fine-grained pitch unit

A cent is 1/100 of a semitone — or equivalently 1/1200 of an octave. It is the standard unit for describing tuning deviations and intonation errors. A well-trained ear can detect deviations as small as 5–10 cents. If you need to convert between a frequency ratio and cents, the formula is cents = 1200 × log₂(f₂/f₁). To check your tuning with a live microphone signal, the Hz to note converter shows the nearest note plus the offset in cents.

How notes map to frequency bands

The note frequency chart above shows how the pitch range spans the audio spectrum. Roughly: sub-bass (below 60 Hz) covers C0–B1, bass (60–250 Hz) covers C2–B3, midrange (250 Hz–2 kHz) covers most musical content C4–B6, presence/brilliance (2–20 kHz) handles harmonics, sibilance, and "air" — that's why upper octaves matter even though we don't sing in them. The interval calculator can show you the exact frequency ratio and cent distance between any two notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert a note to Hz?
Use the formula f = A4 × 2^((n − 69) / 12), where A4 is your reference (usually 440 Hz) and n is the MIDI number of the note. For example, Middle C is MIDI 60, so f = 440 × 2^((60 − 69) / 12) = 440 × 2^(−9/12) ≈ 261.63 Hz.
What is the frequency of Middle C?
Middle C (C4) = 261.63 Hz at the standard A4 = 440 Hz tuning. With a 432 Hz reference, Middle C drops to 256.87 Hz. With historical baroque tuning (A4 = 415 Hz), it falls to 246.94 Hz.
Why is A4 = 440 Hz the standard?
It was formalised by ISO 16:1975, building on a 1939 conference recommendation. Before standardisation, tuning varied widely — Mozart's pitch was around 422 Hz, late baroque was 415 Hz, and some 19th-century orchestras went up to 450 Hz. 440 Hz was a compromise between low-pitch and high-pitch traditions.
What's the difference between A4 = 432 Hz and 440 Hz?
432 Hz is a slightly lower reference, often associated with claims about being "more natural" or "harmonious with the universe." There's no scientific evidence supporting health benefits, but musically it produces a slightly warmer/darker sound. The Hz difference for any note is consistent — multiplying every frequency by 432/440 = 0.9818. So Middle C at 432 Hz reference is 261.63 × 0.9818 = 256.87 Hz.
What's the highest and lowest piano note?
A standard 88-key piano spans A0 (MIDI 21, 27.5 Hz) to C8 (MIDI 108, 4,186 Hz). Below A0 lies sub-audible bass; above C8 is mostly synth territory and piccolo extensions. Some extended pianos (Bösendorfer Imperial) add keys down to C0 (16.35 Hz).
Why does my note sound the same as another?
Notes one octave apart (e.g., A3 and A4) differ by exactly 2× frequency and sound very similar because all their harmonics align. This is called "octave equivalence" and is the foundation of why we use the same letter for notes 12 semitones apart.
Do C# and D♭ have the same frequency?
In 12-tone equal temperament — the system this converter uses — yes. C#4 and D♭4 are enharmonic equivalents: both map to MIDI note 61 and produce exactly 277.18 Hz at A4 = 440 Hz. In historical tuning systems such as meantone or quarter-comma temperament, these two spellings were genuinely different frequencies, sometimes more than 20 cents apart. Equal temperament eliminated those distinctions in favour of consistent semitone spacing across all keys.
How many Hz apart are two notes that are one semitone away?
It depends entirely on where you are in the frequency range — a semitone is a ratio (×21/12 ≈ 1.0595), not a fixed Hz gap. Around A4 = 440 Hz, one semitone up (A#4 / B♭4) is 466.16 Hz — a difference of 26.16 Hz. Around A5 = 880 Hz, the same semitone interval spans roughly 52.33 Hz. Lower in the bass, the gaps are tiny: E1 (41.2 Hz) to F1 (43.7 Hz) is only 2.5 Hz. This is why equal temperament uses multiplicative ratios rather than additive steps.
Why do some orchestras tune to A4 = 442 Hz instead of 440 Hz?
Some European orchestras — notably in Germany, Austria, and Eastern Europe — tune their concert pitch to A4 = 442 or 443 Hz because the slightly higher tension gives string instruments a brighter, more projecting tone. Tuning to 440 Hz is the ISO standard and by far the most common choice, especially in recording, broadcasting, and electronically produced music. When importing or comparing across sources, always confirm the reference pitch — a 2 Hz difference shifts every note by about 7.8 cents.