© Unsplash (photo by tao he)

About 'Spectrum of Sound': Sub-Sonic, Sonic, and Ultra-Sonic

 

Sound extends far beyond what human consciously hear. The human ear detects only part of a much wider frequency spectrum that affects how we sense music, vibration, and the world around us.

 

 

Human Hearing: 20 Hz - 20 kHz

The typical human audible range spans 20 Hz to 20 kHz (often slightly lower—around 17 - 19 kHz for many adults due to natural age-related hearing decline). This is the 'sonic spectrum', where we perceive pitch, tone, brightness, and clarity.

 

Sub-Sonic Frequencies: Below 20 Hz

Frequencies under 20 Hz are 'felt' rather than heard.

They come from sources such as:

• Earthquakes and thunder 
• Massive machinery
• Pipe organs and sub-bass synthesizers

Sub-sonic energy adds physical impact to music and film sound design.

 

Ultra-Sonic Frequencies: Above 20 kHz

Above 20 kHz lies the 'ultrasonic' range.

Human cannot hear these frequencies, but they appear in:

• Medical ultrasonic devices
• Animal communication
• High-resolution recordings where harmonics may extend far beyond audibility

These ultrasonic overtones can subtly influence perceived "air" or realism in recordings.

 

Instrument Frequency Range: 5 HZ - 60,000 Hz

Musical instruments collectively cover roughly 5 Hz to 60 kHz:

• Pipe organs produce sub-bass
• Drums and bass instruments reach deep low frequencies
• Violins, flutes, and cymbals create harmonics above 20 kHz
• Digital synthesizers and modern samples may extend to 50 - 60 kHz

Even if we can't hear the extremes, these frequencies shape timbre and realism.

 

 

Understanding the full spectrum (felt, heard, and beyond hearing) helps us design better instruments, recordings, and listening environments. Sound is not only what we hear, but also what we sense physically and what exists beyond our perception.

 

 

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dSONIQ

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Evergreen Audio Design Group

American audio software development company founded by a former software architect at Avid offering sophisticated media tools to enhance workflows and customized softwares based on individual client's needs

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Exonic UK

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Focus Fidelity

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Ghost Audio Factory

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Ginger Audio

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guk.ai

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Harvest Plugins

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IBallRoad Audio

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Imaginando

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Inouï Samples

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K-Devices

French software company that designs and develops innovative tools for music creation since 2010.

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Kalide

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Klanghabitat

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LiveLoop

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Lugert Publishing

German music publishing company offering innovative music softwares such as 'Forte' notation software and 'ScanScore' sheet music scanning software for musicians, students, and teachers.

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Majetone

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Martinic

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Master The Score

Online educational platform founded in 2021 by Austrian composer Nikolaus Daim offering high quality online courses covering any imaginable topics about media music production

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Mathew Lane

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Melda Production

Software developer creating advanced tools for music production and audio processing based in Prague, Czech Republic

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Molecular Bytes

Innovative Music and Audio Software Developer based in Germany

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Mozaic Beats

American company developing softwares for music theory such as AutoTheory and Chord Prism

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Naroth Audio

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Nuances Controller

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Oeksound

Finnish audio plug-in company bringing innovative sound for mixing and mastering based in Helsinki

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Otto Audio

American audio software developer offering premium audio weapons for heavy music

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Penka's Masterclass

12-week intensive course in soundtrack analysis and demo scoring, taught by Grammy-winning Hollywood composer Penka Kouneva

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Pinkertone

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Quiet Art

New Zealand audio plug-in company creating unique but must-have products for people in the music and film industries

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r-loops

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Safari Pedals

Israeli company based on stomp pedals for line level and microphones as well as VST, AAX and AU plug-ins with a fresh new approach.

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Schulz Audio

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Silence+Other Sounds

Italian boutique sound design company creating evoking, vivid, unmistakable sound design for the wide community of composers, filmmakers, game developers and editors

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Sinuslabs

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Six String Audio

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Slooply

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Song Noter

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SonicProjects

Swiss research-base virtual instrument developer offering top-notch digital emulations of old classic analog synthesizers.

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Soultree Audio

Finnish sample instruments developer offering versatile, high-quality tools for composing and arranging vocal music with lyrics based on human voice digitalization research

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Sound Magic

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StageBox Software

Canadian software developer founded by 3x Grammy-nominated composer Matt Robertson, offering powerful hosting software for live music performance

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Swar Systems

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TAQS.IM

American world music specialized audio software developer offering world music synthesizers, world music libraries, world music community, and world music learning resources.

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Swedish software company committed to crafting interactive digital experiences that ignite creativity, educate, and entertain

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Romanian sound design company offering the best-quality House music samples in the market

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German virtual instruments developer founded by a professional film composer Tobias Hang, offering sounds that are unheard of, deeply emotional, and intuitively playable

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Vois

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Yum Audio

German studio with interdisciplinary working developers and designers offering innovative sound tools

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