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Every instrument lives in its own part of the spectrum
Sound is vibration, and frequency counts those vibrations per second, in hertz. Human hearing runs from about 20 hertz to about 20,000 hertz, but no instrument uses all of that range. A kick drum lives down near 50 hertz. A violin lives hundreds of times higher. When you can see those homes side by side, mixing, arranging and choosing sounds all get easier, because you stop guessing where an instrument sits and start seeing it.
This chart is a reference map, not an equaliser guide. It does not tell you what to cut or boost. It shows two things for each instrument: the main range, where its fundamental notes live, and the full range, where its harmonics and overtones reach. The fundamental is the lowest, strongest part of a note. The harmonics are the higher parts that give the instrument its character. A flute and a violin can play the same note, yet sound nothing alike, because their harmonics are different.
How to use the chart
Start by choosing an instrument family: voice, strings, wind, keys or drums. The chart draws one dark bar per instrument for its main range and a lighter bar underneath for its full range. The horizontal axis is logarithmic, which matches how hearing works. On a logarithmic axis, the jump from 20 to 200 hertz takes as much space as the jump from 2,000 to 20,000 hertz, because each step feels like a similar change in pitch.
Then try the band finder. Enter any low and high frequency, for example 100 to 1,000 hertz, and the tool lists every instrument whose main range touches that band. This is useful when you arrange music. If four instruments all crowd into the same band, they will fight for the same space, and the result sounds muddy even before you touch any effect. Spreading instruments across bands, or choosing different octaves, often clears a mix more than any plugin can.
What the ranges actually mean
Take the piano. Its main range runs from about 27 hertz at the lowest A to about 4,186 hertz at the highest C. That is the widest main range of any common instrument, which is why a piano can cover bass, chords and melody on its own. Its full range reaches higher still, because the strike of each hammer adds bright overtones above the note itself. A bass guitar, by contrast, has a narrow main range, roughly 41 to 98 hertz for its open strings, with harmonics reaching up toward 5,000 hertz.
Voices show the same pattern in a smaller space. A bass voice centres roughly between 87 and 330 hertz, while a soprano centres between 262 and about 1,047 hertz. Their full ranges overlap a great deal, because breath, consonants and brightness all live in the higher frequencies. That overlap is why a soprano and a tenor can sing the same line in different octaves and still blend, and why a choir needs careful spacing to keep each part clear.
A worked example
Suppose you are arranging a small band: kick drum, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and a soprano voice. The kick sits near 50 to 100 hertz. The bass guitar sits near 41 to 98 hertz. Those two overlap almost completely, so they need different jobs: let the kick own the very lowest thump and let the bass play notes slightly higher, or let them take turns in the arrangement. The acoustic guitar lives mainly from 82 to 660 hertz, and the soprano from 262 to 1,047 hertz. Their overlap is smaller, and the guitar’s strumming rhythm separates it from the voice in time as well as in pitch.
Now check a band from 200 to 500 hertz. The chart shows the soprano, the acoustic guitar, the cello and the tenor voice all touching that band. If your arrangement puts all of them there at once, expect crowding. Move one part up an octave, drop another part out for a verse, or change the voicing of a chord so its notes spread wider. Small arrangement choices like these are often worth more than hours of mixing.
Limits to keep in mind
These ranges are typical values for standard instruments in standard tuning. Real instruments vary. A five-string bass goes lower than a four-string bass. An extended-range guitar goes higher. A singer’s range depends on training and on the day. Extended techniques, such as a violin played with harmonics or a trumpet played with a mute, move the sound outside the usual range. Treat the chart as a starting map, and trust your ears for the final call.
The chart also cannot tell you how loud each part is at each frequency. Two instruments can share a band and still sit well together if one is quiet there and the other is loud, or if they play at different times. Use the chart to plan, then listen. If a part disappears in the mix, check whether another instrument is covering its main range, and try moving, thinning or resting the covering part before you reach for processing.