Pitch memory and frequency matching in the browser
Pitch memory games ask the player to hear a tone, lose the reference, and tune a second tone back to the remembered center.
The target disappears for a reason
If the reference tone stayed on forever, Frequency Match would become a direct comparison exercise. Sensorium lets the player listen first, then removes the target so the tuned wave must be guided by memory.
That small gap is where the challenge lives. The remembered pitch may drift upward, downward, or become less distinct as the player adjusts the control.
Cents make pitch error readable
Frequency in hertz is not a fair error unit across the whole range. A 20 Hz miss near a low tone feels different from a 20 Hz miss near a high tone.
Cents are a musical distance unit, so they describe pitch separation more evenly. A smaller cents value means the tuned tone is closer to the remembered target.
The visual wave supports the ear
The wave display gives a tactile sense of tuning, but the core signal is auditory. The game is marked as sound-dependent because the target cannot be judged from visuals alone.
The page still includes visible status, controls, and result text so a player can understand what happened after the tone is locked.
Device audio can affect fine results
Small speakers, Bluetooth latency, volume, and browser audio scheduling can change the feel of a pitch task. Sensorium uses the score as practice feedback instead of pretending the browser is a calibrated audio lab.
The most reliable comparison is the same player, same device, same listening setup, repeated across several attempts.
Practice notes
- Listen to the target long enough to remember its center, not just its first attack.
- Move slowly near the remembered tone and stop when the pitch stops pulling upward or downward.
- Use headphones if small speaker distortion makes the target hard to hear.