Johann Heinrich Scheibler (11 November 1777 – 20 January 1837) was a silk manufacturer from Crefeld, Prussia, without a scientific background, who went on to make contributions to the science of acoustics as a self taught musicologist. He made a "tonometer" () from 56 tuning forks as an instrument for accurately measuring pitch by counting beating, described in 1834.Journal of the Society of Arts, Vol 28, p. 299. Study of Scheibler's Tonometer by Alexander Ellis"Tuning Forks", AmericanHistory.SI.edu. "A wooden board...together with a small wooden mallet with which the forks are to be struck, and a good metronome, constitute Scheibler's tuning apparatus."Loehr, Johann Joseph and August Heinrich Wehrhan (1853). An Essay on the Theory and Practice of Tuning in General, and on Schiebler's Invention of Tuning Pianofortes and Organs by the Metronome in Particular, p.45-6. London: Robert Cocks.
If the frequency of a tuning fork is known, then a higher fork's frequency may be determined by using a metronome to determine the frequency of the beating: F1+beating=F2. Joseph Sauveur (1653–1716) used this method to determine the relative frequencies of organ pipes and improve the earlier calculations of Marin Mersenne based on Mersenne's laws.Beyer (1999), p.10.
His writings include: Der physikalische und musikalische Tonmesser, welcher… [The Physical and Musical Tonometer]; G. D. Bädeker, Essen, 1834. Ueber mathematische Stimmung, Temperaturen und Orgelstimmung nach Vibrations-Differenzen oder Stößen [On the mathematics of tuning: temperature and organ-tuning after alterations of vibration], Krefeld, 1837.
See also Savart wheel Stuttgart pitch
References