This paper explores the relationship between how we use and theorise frequency as musicians and how frequency is perceived by listeners within the technological and ideological context of electroacoustic music. With reference to work in perception, music theory and aesthetics, it is argued that thinking about frequency is still dominated by the idea of music’s abstract significance. It is suggested that although electroacoustic music presents a challenge to such ideology, this challenge is not reflected in current musical research, leading to a peculiar dislocation between practice and theory. In conclusion, it is proposed that studying the ways in which frequency structure contributes to meaning might provide a better understanding of the production and perception of electroacoustic music than studying frequency structure in itself.