#Maskminder
##Music, a brief introduction Music is mathematical endeavor as well as an artistic one. Sounds are simply frequencies. What we call music is an arrangement of those frequencies into a recognizable and pleasing way.
The human range of hearing is 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz. All music that we can hear is stuffed within that range. Nearly every musical instrument fits in that range as well. (A notable exception is the pipe organ, the largest ones reach below the range of human hearing, but at that range the deep bass notes are felt rather than heard.)
When a note is plucked on a guitar or struck on keyboard we are hearing a particular frequency. Modern orchestras tune their "A" note to 440 hertz. Sometimes this is abbreviated to A=440. This is known as the 'fundamental'. In addition to a fundamental, an instrument will produce a number of other frequencies. These are known as 'overtones'. The profile of overtones is what makes an oboe sound like an oboe and not an electric guitar.
##Mixing, a brief introduction In modern music production each instrument is separated into a 'track'. A mixing console has multiple tracks, one for each instrument. The mixing engineers' job is to set the relative levels of each instrument. Despite protestations from percussionists everywhere, the lead vocal is in fact, more important that the hi-hat.
Each instrument must have sonic space in the mix. Certain frequencies are filtered out to leave room for other instruments. A classic example of this is the acoustic guitar. In a complicated arrangement, an acoustic guitar has the ability to mask a bunch of other instruments. Typically an engineer will apply a low-cut filter to remove the bass frequencies.
The issue is musicians think in terms of notes and mixing engineers think in terms of frequencies. This tool is designed to bridge that gap. A user will be able to enter a musical key (say E Major), a set of instruments (guitar, bass and male voice), and be able to see which frequencies overlap and are likley to cause masking.