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I remember, when I was a kid, that I had a toy piano where the notes C, D, E, etc. were labeled 1, 2, 3, etc.

Later, I tried to get a computer to play a simple melody and assumed that 1=A, 2=B, etc. The result sounded wrong, and eventually by trial and error I figured out that if I put C# in place of C, then everything sounded good.

I asked my father why, and he gave me a version of "you'll understand when you're older". My father was a wonderful man, but this is still one of my sadder memories from childhood.



You may have asked him at the worst possible time for him personally. Whyever he didn't explain it at the time, I'm sure it's nothing to do with his love for you.


Oh, no question about that. When I was a kid, I tended to assume that my parents always were available to drop what they're doing and engage with you.

(And which, incidentally, is surely a reason why many parents are finding working from home during quarantine to be so difficult.)


Your question may have touched a nerve, if he was getting older and no longer could see sharp.


Or he just wanted to be flat on the couch, without being disturbed.


Maybe he was like me who had some degree of hearing loss when I grew older and could no longer hear C sharp.


musical notes repeat once every doubling of frequencies, so there are many C#s spread throughout the range of human hearing. The only way someone could be unable to hear c# would be if they were unable to hear at all.


Your parent and grandparent comments were (imo, clever) word plays on C# / see sharp and back to _hear_ c# (instead of see sharp).

Edit: Point being--scientific accuracy not required. :)


oops!




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