Overtone: Difference between revisions
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added a sentence about the importance of calling the fundamental, not the octave, the first harmonic. |
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{{Wikipedia}} | {{Wikipedia}} | ||
An '''overtone''' is a [[partial]], a sine wave component of a periodic sound, other than the fundamental. When no [[timbre]] is specified, it is generally assumed to be [[harmonic]], with the result that (since the fundamental is not an overtone) the ''n''th harmonic is the (''n-1)''th overtone. This is not ideal, because the interval between the ''m''th and ''n''th harmonic is easy to derive (n/m), whereas the interval between the ''m''th and ''n''th overtone is (n+1)/(m+1). | An '''overtone''' is a [[partial]], a sine wave component of a periodic sound, other than the fundamental. When no [[timbre]] is specified, it is generally assumed to be [[Harmonic timbre|harmonic]], with the result that (since the fundamental is not an overtone) the ''n''th [[harmonic]] is the (''n-1)''th overtone. This is not ideal, because the interval between the ''m''th and ''n''th harmonic is easy to derive (n/m), whereas the interval between the ''m''th and ''n''th overtone is (n+1)/(m+1). | ||
[[Category:Terms]] | [[Category:Terms]] | ||
Revision as of 02:35, 15 May 2025
An overtone is a partial, a sine wave component of a periodic sound, other than the fundamental. When no timbre is specified, it is generally assumed to be harmonic, with the result that (since the fundamental is not an overtone) the nth harmonic is the (n-1)th overtone. This is not ideal, because the interval between the mth and nth harmonic is easy to derive (n/m), whereas the interval between the mth and nth overtone is (n+1)/(m+1).