DecibelDock

What is frequency (Hz) and pitch?

Frequency counts how many times a wave repeats per second, measured in hertz (Hz). Pitch is how we hear that repetition as higher or lower. They are related, but a real sound usually contains many frequencies at once.

Hz in practice

A 440 Hz tone repeats 440 times per second — the common A4 reference. Doubling frequency jumps roughly an octave in pitch terms. Fans, transformers and engines often produce steady tones you can read in Hz even when they are not musical.

Fundamental vs peak

The strongest peak on a spectrum is not always the fundamental pitch your ear names. Harmonics can outrank the base frequency. A careful frequency finder tries to infer the fundamental, and should stay quiet when the answer is unclear.

In DecibelDock

Frequency Finder shows a live main frequency when the tone is clear, with peak hold and pluck capture. Tuner mode maps frequency to note names and cents. Brief dropouts hold the last reading so the display does not flicker.

When to trust a blank

Silence, noise and chords should not invent a neat Hz number. Prefer "No clear frequency" over a confident wrong pitch — especially before you act on a reading.

Hums and machinery

Many buildings and appliances emit steady tones near mains harmonics or fan blade rates. A frequency finder can help you notice whether a hum sits near 50/60 Hz families or somewhere else. That is identification of a tone, not a diagnosis of a fault or an electrical hazard.

Notes and cents

Musical pitch maps frequency onto note names. Cents measure how far you are from a target note. Tuner mode uses that map with instrument presets. Frequency mode can stay in raw Hz when you care about a machine tone rather than a named note.

Sampling and range

Phone capture is limited by sample rate and by the microphone's frequency response. Very low rumbles and very high whisps may be weak or missing even when your ears notice them. Spectrum view can hint at that; it still cannot invent energy the mic never delivered.

When DecibelDock says there is no clear frequency, believe it and adjust the source or the room rather than forcing a reading.

Putting it to work in DecibelDock

Open Frequency Finder after you read this guide so the ideas attach to real controls. Use the same phone, the same weighting or instrument preset, and the same physical position whenever you compare two scenes. Prefer a blank reading, a held value, or a written rejection over a number that looks definitive but came from silence, clipping or chaos.

DecibelDock is built for exploration and relative checks on Android. It is not a calibrated or certified sound level meter, not a medical device, and not a substitute for professional instruments when safety, health or compliance are on the line. Direction, Doppler and Distance stay approximate and depend on your phone. The learn section exists to make those limits understandable — and to help the feature pages show up for the questions people already type into a search box.

When you are done experimenting, skim a related article below and the matching feature page. Internal links are intentional: each guide should send you somewhere useful next, not leave you on a dead-end paragraph.

If something in the app disagrees with this guide after a future update, trust the in-app How to use notes for that build, and treat marketing copy as secondary to what the screen actually shows.

Key takeaways

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