Introduction

Intonationisanintegralaspectofmusicmaking,andmusicianshavestrivedforcenturiestofind
betterwaysofimprovingtuningskills.Onesuchtoolthatmusicianshavefoundespecially
helpfulistheuseofdifference(orresultant)tones.Differencetonesareaphenomenonin
whichsoundwavesfromtwoindepentlyplayedpitchesoverlap,causingsomewavestobecome
strongerwhentheyarereceivedbythehumanear.Thesestrongerwavesareperceivedasan
independentoscillationortonebythehumanbrain,whichmusicianscanidentifyandusetoaid
inintonation.Thispaperexploresdifference(resultant)tonesingreatdetail,includingtheir
history,thetheorybehindthem,andwaysthatmusicianscanusethemtocorrectintonation.

History
Thehistoryofdifferencetonesiscomplexandfraughtwithcontroversy.Modernscholarshave
debatedeverythingfromwhodiscoveredthemtowhethertheyactuallyexistoutsideofhuman
perception.
Theoriginaldiscovererofdifferencetoneshasbeenamysteryforaslongaspeoplehave
beendiscussingthetopic.InanAmericanJournalofPhysicsarticlefrom1935,ArthurTaber
Jonesdiscussesvariouspossibilities,addressingthethreepeoplemostcommonlyconsideredto
havediscoveredthem.
ThepersonmostwidelycreditedwiththediscoveryofdifferencetonesisGiuseppe
Tartini.SomeevengoasfarastorefertodifferencetonesasTartiniTones.Theearliestbook
inwhichTartinimakesmentionofdifferencetonesisinhisbook,TrattatodiMusica,whichwas
publishedin1754.1Onpages13and14ofthiswork,Tartinispeaksofterzisuoni(thirdsounds,

ArthurTaberJones,TheDiscoveryofDifferenceTones.AmericanJournalofPhysics3,no.2.1935,49.

ordifferencetones),andgivesexamples.Inthisparticularwork,hemakesnomentionofthe
discoverer,andonlysaysthattherewasthendiscoveredanewharmonicphenomenon.2
AsecondbookbyTartini,DePrincipidellArmoniaMusicale(published1767),has
moredefinitiveevidencethathediscovereddifferencetones.3Inthefirstchapter,hereferences
thatthirdsoundwhichresultsfromtwosoundsproducedatthesametime:aphenomenonof
recentdiscoverybutofverygreatsignificance.4Throughoutthischapter,whichisdedicatedto
thephysicalfoundationofmusic,thirdsoundsarereferencedfrequentlythroughout,but
Tartinimakesnomentionofwhodiscoveredthem.Itisnotuntilthesecondchapterthathe
addressesthediscoverer:Tartiniinterruptstheflowofthesecondchaptertomentionthatwhen
hisTrattatodeMusicawasfirstpublished,herefrainedfromclaiminghimselfthediscovererof
differencetones.Sincethen,hecontinues,peoplefromothercountrieshadbeguntotakecredit
fortheirdiscovery,andTartinifeltitwasnecessarytostakehisclaimtoit.5Fromthisevidence,
itisreasonabletospeculatethatGiuseppeTartiniwasthefirstandindependentdiscovererof
differencetones.However,scholarshavereasontobelievethatthereareotherdiscoverersto
consider.
AnotherpossiblediscovererofdifferencetonesisGeorgAndreasSorge,aGerman
theoristandcontemporaryofGiuseppeTartini.Hewroteanumberofbooksonmusictheory,
twoofwhichareoftencitedashavingevidencesupportinghisdiscoveryofdifferencetones:
VorgemachdermusicalischenComposition(1745),andAnweisungzurStimmung(1744).
AccordingtoArthurTaberJonesarticle,thereisonlyasinglestatementwithinVorgemachthat

Ibid.
Ibid.
4
Ibid.,50.
5
Ibid.
3

addressesdifferencetones,andthatstatementrevealsnoinformationaboutthediscoverer.
Similarly,SorgebrieflymentionsdifferencetonesinAnweisingzurStimmung,butagainmakes
noclaimaboutbeingthediscoverer.Neitherofthesebooksrevealanyinformationaboutwho
madethediscoveryofdifferencetones.Therefore,JonesconcludesthatitisunlikelythatSorge
consideredhimselfanindependentdiscovererofthisphenomenon.6
ThefinalcandidateisJeanBaptisteRomieu(17231766).Hispaper,Nouvelledecouverte
dessonsharmoniquesgravesdontlaresonanceesttressensibledanslesaccordsdes
instrumentsavent(Newdiscoveryofseriousovertoneswhoseresonanceisverysensitiveinthe
agreementswindinstruments),appearsonpage77ofthevolume,Assembleepubliquedela
SocieteRoyaledesSciencestenuedanslagrandesalledelhoteldevilledemontpellier,le
decembre1751(PublicmeetingoftheRoyalSocietyofSciencesheldinthegreathallofthe
CityHallofMontpellier,theDecember1751).7JonesclaimsthatRomieusstatementswithin
thatpapermakeitclearthathewasindeedanindependentdiscovererofdifferencetones.8
AlthoughthisclaimtodiscoverycomesmuchlaterthanTartinis,Jonesarguesthatbothmen
couldhavemadethediscoveryindependentlyofeachother.Inhisfinalanalysisofthis
information,Jonesconcludesthatitisprobable,althoughnotcertain,thatTartiniwasthefirstto
discoverdifferencetones,andthatRomieudiscoveredthemindependentlysomeyearslater.He
alsostatesthatifSorgedid,indeed,makethediscoveryindependently,itwouldhavebeenlater
thanTartini,becauseSorgewasonlyelevenyearsoldwhenTartinistakedhisclaimtothe
discovery.9

Ibid.,51.
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
7

Whilethetruediscovererofdifferencetonesmayneverbeknown,thenatureof
differencetoneshasmoredefinitiveconsensusamongmodernacousticians.Historically
speaking,therehasbeendisagreementamongphysicistswhetherornotdifferencetonesarea
subjectiveorobjectivephenomenon.Thoseinsupportofthesubjectiveviewbelievethat
differencetonesaremerelyaproductofnonlinearitiesinthehumanear.Theobjectiveview,
however,holdsthattheyexistinphysicalspacealongsidetheoriginalsoundwaves.Thisissueis
addressedinEdwardB.Titcheners1910articleinthePsychologicalBulletin,wherehe
discussestheworkofHermannvonHelmholtz,arenownedGermanphysicist.10Helmholtz
concludesthatthese[differencetones]taketheirorigininthemiddleear,supportingthe
subjectiveviewofdifferencetones.11
Whilescholarsduringtheearlypartofthetwentiethcenturyhadvariedexplanationsfor
thetruenatureofdifferencetones,modernresearchonthissubjecthastentativelyconcludedthat
differencetonesareasubjectivephenomenon,althoughitshouldbenotedthatthisresearch
tendstousefewsubjectsindetailedisolatedexperimentalsettings.12InadissertationbyJohnP.
Falskow(oftheUniversityofFlorida,2002),aconsiderablemajorityofstudiescitedonthe
subjectconcludedthatdifferencetonesarearesultofthenonlinearitiesoftheear,notaresultof
electromagnetic,acoustic,orartifact.13Whileearlyscholarsoftheobjectiveviewpointused
illustrationsofresonatingtuningforkstoshowthatdifferencetonefrequenciesoccurredin
actualsoundwaves,thisviewhasbeendiscreditedbymoremodernresearch.14Eventhough

10

E.B.Titchener,HelmholtzExplanationofDifferenceTones.PsychologicalBulletin7,no.1.1910,31.
Ibid.
12
JohnFalskow,MusiciansPerceptionofDifferenceTonesinContrivedDuetStimuli.AnnArbor,MI,UMI,2002,
45.
13
Ibid.,46.
14
Ibid.,42.
11

differencetonesareheardandusedbynearlyallmusicians,scholarshavelargelyconcludedthat
differencetonesareasubjectivephenomenonthatoccursonlyinsidethehumanear.

Theory
Thoughtechnicallysubjective,differencetonescanbedescribedandmeasuredinfairlyconcrete
ways.InTrumpetPedagogy:ACompendiumofModernTeachingTechniques,authorDavidR.
HickmandescribesthenumericalratiorelationshipbetweenpitchesasdescribedinHertz(hz),or
cyclespersecond(cps).15SeeTable1belowforspecificratios.16
Table1
Unison:
MinorSecond
MajorSecond
MinorThird
MajorThird
PerfectFourth
Tritone
PerfectFifth
MinorSixth
MajorSixth
MinorSeventh
MajorSeventh
Octave

1:1
16:15
9:8
6:5
5:4
4:3
7:5
3:2
8:5
5:3
7:4
15:8
2:1

Theseratiosshowtherelationshipbetweenthenumberofsoundwavesperunitoftimethateach
pitchproducescomparedtotheother.Forexample,whenconsideringaminorthird,forevery

15

DavidR.Hickman,TrumpetPedagogy:ACompendiumofModernTeachingTechniques.Chandler,AZ.,Hickman
MusicEditions,2006,297.
16
CatherineSchmidtJones.TuningSystems.Connexions.AccessedFebruary23,2014.
http://cnx.org/content/m11639/latest.

fivesoundwavesproducedbythelowerpitch,sixareproducedbytheupperpitch.These
relationshipsleadtotheoverlappingofwavesatapredictablefrequency,creatingrelatively
strongwavesthatcanbeheardasbeatsorwaves.17Thecalculationofthisfrequencyisdone
bysubtractingthefrequencyofthelowerpitchfromthehigherpitch.Forexamples,seefigure1
below.18

Figure1

Theimplicationofthisformulaisappliedtointervaltuningthusly:ifthedifferencetone
isflat,thefrequencyofthatpitchistoolow,whichmeansthetheintervalistoonarrow.Ifthe
differencetoneissharp,thefrequencyofthatpitchistoohigh,meaningthattheintervalistoo
wide.19Whencorrectingoutoftunedifferencetones,careshouldbetakentoensurethatthe
properpersonmakescorrectiveaction.Forexample,ifthedifferencetoneisflat,eitherthe
bottomplayershouldflattentheirpitch,orthetopplayershouldsharpentheirpitchuntilthe
differencetoneisintunewiththeintervalbeingplayed.
Differencetonescanalsobeusedtohelptuneaunisonpitch.Whentwoplayersare
playingslightlyoutoftunewitheachother,abeatingmaybeperceived,whichisalsoa

17

Hickman,Ibid.
JosephWolfe,TartiniTonesandTemperament:AnIntroductionforMusicians.MusicAcoustics.Accessed
February25,2014.http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/tartinitemperament.html.
19
LarryGuy,IntonationTrainingforClarinetists.Thirdedition.StonyPoint,NY:RivernotePress,1995,21.
18

differencetone.Considerthefollowingexamples:
442hz440hz=2cps
660hz652hz=8cps

Suchlowfrequencieswouldnotberecognizedaspitches,butratherasbeatsattherateof2or8
beatspersecond,respectively.Thebeatingwillincreaseinfrequencyasthepitchesgetfurther
apartfromeachother.

WaystoAidIntonation

InapedagogicalarticlebyG.E.Moodyin1992,theauthorclaimsthatwhenastudentusesa
visualtuner,heisnotdevelopinganyactualintonationskills,butatmostislearningintonation
tendenciesoftheirinstrument.20Analternativetousingavisualtunertopracticeintonationisto
usedrones.Whetherstudentsaretuningunisonswiththebeatphenomenon,ortuningintervals
withdifferencetones,itismucheasierforthemtodevelopanauralperceptionofintonation
ratherthanavisualone.21Manyelectronictunershavedronesforvarious,ifnotall,pitches,
whichcanbeusedinthispractice.Alternatively,freelanceclassicalsaxophonistRichard
Schwartzcreatedacompactdiscalbumofdrones,whichisanavailableresourcefordoingwork
withdrones.22Onhiswebsite,SchwartzgoesintomoredetailaboutapplicationsforhisCD,
whichincludeshelpingintonationofsimplemelodies,etudes,orrepertoirewithdifferencetones,
andunisonpitcheswithbeating.23
EdwardH.Tarrsbook,TheArtofBaroqueTrumpetPlaying,Volume2,isamethod

20

G.E.Moody,UsingResultantTonestoAidIntonation.NACWPIJournal40,no.4.1992,912.
Ibid.
22
Ball,Tom."UsingDronestoImproveIntonation."TubaEuph.com.AccessedMarch19,2014.
http://www.dwerden.com/SoundFiles/IntonationHelper/The_Tuning_CD_Booklet_free_version.pdf.
23
RichardSchwartz.AbouttheTuningCD.TheTuningCD.AccessedFebruary26,2014.
http://www.thetuningcd.com.
21

bookforthestudyofperformingBaroquetrumpet.Inthisbook,Tarrestablishesaruleofthumb
fordifferencetoneprediction,whichhecallsthetonicrule.24Thetonicruleisasfollows:If
thetwonotesplayedfitintoamajortriad,theresultant[difference]tonewillusuallybethe
tonic.25Alsointhistext,Tarrstatesthatresultanttonesareonlyreliableforintonationaidwhen
theintervalsarepure(meaningperfectfourthsandfifths,aswellasbothtypesofthirds).Tarr
wroteseveralduetsinthistextwiththeimplieddifferencetonesindicatedbeneaththestavesto
showtheplayerswhattheintuneintervalshouldsoundlike.
GeraldWebstersbookonintonation,titledImprovingIntonation,isamethodologyfor
usingdifferencetonestohelpintonation.26Hisbookincludesaduetinwhichthewritten
intervals,whenperformedbymusicians,createamelodyindifferencetones,whichdemands
accurateintonationfortheproperresult.27ThisconceptistakenevenfurtherbyJohnP.Falskow
inhis2002dissertation,MusiciansPerceptionofDifferenceTonesinContrivedDuetStimuli,
whereFalskowwroteduetsonlycomposedofmajorthirds,minorthirds,perfectfourths,and
perfectfifths.Thesemelodies,whenplayedintune,revealcommonchildrensmelodiesinthe
differencetones.28OneofFalskowscomposedduetsispicturedbelow(Figure2).29

24

EdwardH.Tarr,TheArtofBaroqueTrumpetPlaying:ExercisesfromtheScholaCantorumBasiliensis.Mainz,
Germany,Schott,2000.
25
Ibid.
26
GeraldB.Webster,ImprovingIntonation.Vancouver,WA:BestPress,2001.
27
Ibid.
28
Falskow.Ibid.,51.
29
Ibid.,77.


Figure2

Conclusion
Differencetonesareanessentialtoolforallmusicianstobeawareof.Notonlycantheyhelp
withtuning,buttheycanalsohelpstudentstobetterunderstandintervalsandsoundwaves.With
anunderstandingofthehistoryandtheorybehinddifferencetones,musicianscanproperly
identifyandusethemfortheirbenefit.

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Falskow,JohnP.Musicians'PerceptionofDifferenceTonesinContrivedDuetStimuli.Ann
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