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| de = Obertonreihe
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| ro = Seria armonică
<div style="width:100%; max-height:400pt; overflow:auto; background-color:#f8f9fa; border: 1px solid #eaecf0; padding:0em"><pre style="margin:0px;border:none;background:none;word-wrap:break-word;white-space: pre-wrap ! important" class="old-revision-html">=Music based on the overtone series=
| zh = 泛音列
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{{Wikipedia|Harmonic series (music)}}
The '''harmonic series''' is a sequence of [[pitch|tones]] generated by whole-number frequency [[ratio]]s over a fundamental: [[1/1]], [[2/1]], [[3/1]], [[4/1]], [[5/1]], [[6/1]], [[7/1]], … ad infinitum. Each member of this series is a [[harmonic]] (which is short for "harmonic partial").


The overtone series can be mathematically generated by frequency ratios 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 6/1, 7/1... ad infinitum.
Note that the terms ''overtone'' and '''overtone series''' are not quite synonymous with ''harmonic'' and ''harmonic series'', respectively, although interchangeable usage is also attested. Technically speaking, ''overtone series'' excludes the starting fundamental, so the 2nd harmonic is the 1st overtone. Because of that distinction, the math of the ''overtone series'' is off by one. So, ''harmonic series'' is arguably the preferred standard.
The undertone series is its inversion: 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7... ad infinitum.
Steps between adjacent members of either series are called "superparticular," &amp; they appear in the form a/(a-1), eg. 4/3, 28/27, 33/32...


In just intonation theory, the overtone series is often treated as the foundation of consonance.
In [[just intonation]] theory, the harmonic series is often treated as the foundation of consonance.  


One might compose with the overtone series by, for instance:
The [[subharmonic series]] (or undertone series) is the inversion of the harmonic series: 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, … ad infinitum.
* Tuning to the first several overtones over one fundamental.
* Tuning to an octave-repeating slice of the overtone series for use as a scale (for instance overtones 8 though 16, [[otones12-24|12 through 24]], [[otones20-40|20 through 40]]... see [[Overtone Scales]]).
* Tuning to the overtones of the overtones.
* Tuning to the overtones of the overtones &amp; the undertones of the undertones. (This can produce complex scales such as [[Harry Partch]]'s 43-tone Monophonic; this kind of thing is more often called "[[JustIntonation|just intonation]]" than "overtone music".)


== ==
[[File:HEJI harmonics 1-16.png|thumb|center|650px|Harmonic series on A, partials 1 to 16, notated in [[HEJI]].]]
==External links==


[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_music|Spectral music article on wikipedia]]
== Chord of nature ==
[[http://www.overtone.cc|Overtone music network]] - a portal for overtone music.
{{Wikipedia|Klang (music)}}
[[http://www.xing.com/net/overtonenetwork|Oberton-Netzwerk (Xing)]] - german-speaking group dedicated to overtone music on the social network platform [[http://www.xing.com|Xing]]. Microtonal music in general is welcome, too.
Treated as a [[chord]], the harmonic series is sometimes called the '''chord of nature'''; in German this has been called the '''Klang'''.


==Some individual compositions==
The ''q''-limit chord of nature is 1:2:3:4:…:''q'' up to some odd number ''q'', and is the basic ''q''-[[limit]] [[Otonality and utonality|otonality]] which can be equated via [[Octave reduction|octave equivalence]] to other versions of the complete ''q''-limit otonal chord.


[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimmung|Stimmung]] by Karlheinz Stockhausen
== Music based on the harmonic series ==
[[http://www.southern.com/southern/band/BRANC/disc.html|Symphony No.3 (Gloria)]] by [[http://www.glennbranca.com/|Glenn Branca]]
The [[chord of nature]] is the name sometimes given to the harmonic series, or the series up to a certain stopping point, regarded as a chord.
Various by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Friedrich_Haas|Georg Friedrich Haas]]


Various played with [[http://www.fujara.sk/audio_samples.htm|Fujara]] (slovak overtone flute)
Steps between adjacent members of the harmonic series are called "[[superparticular]]," and they appear in the form (''n''+1)/''n'' (e.g. [[4/3]], [[28/27]], [[33/32]]).
Various by [[http://www.soundwell.com/music-e.htm|SoundWell]] ("Snake" overtone flute)
Various by [[http://www.spectralvoices.com/review.htm|Spectral Voices]] (meditative new age with overtone singing)
Various by [[http://www.stimmhorn.ch/|Stimmhorn]] (experimental alphorn and yodeling combined with overtone singing)


[[http://eceserv0.ece.wisc.edu/%7Esethares/mp3s/immanent.html|Immanent Sphere]] by William Sethares
One might compose with the harmonic series by, for instance:
[[http://mysterybear.net/article/23/palimpsest|Palimsest]] by Dave Seidel
* Tuning to the first several harmonics over one fundamental;
[[http://mysterybear.net/article/22/owllight|Owllight]] by Dave Seidel
* Tuning to an octave-repeating slice of the harmonic series for use as a scale (for instance harmonics 8 though 16, [[otones12-24|12 through 24]], [[otones20-40|20 through 40]], … see [[overtone scales]]);
[[http://mysterybear.net/article/18/threnody|Threnody]] by Dave Seidel
* Tuning to the overtones of the overtones & the undertones of the undertones. (This can produce complex scales such as [[Harry Partch]]'s 43-tone Monophonic; this kind of thing is more often called "just intonation" than "overtone music".)
[[http://www.i-ching-music.com/FREE102.html|Planetary Ripples]] by Richard Burdick


==See also:==  
== Music ==
[[Isoharmonic Chords]]
; [[Richard Burdick]]
[[First Five Octaves of the Harmonic Series]]
* [http://www.i-ching-music.com/FREE102.html ''Planetary Ripples'']{{dead link}}
[[Overtone Scales]]
 
[[ListOfOvertones]]</pre></div>
; [[Folkart Slovakia]] ([http://www.fujara.sk/audio_samples.htm site])
<h4>Original HTML content:</h4>
* Various played with Fujara (slovak overtone flute)
<div style="width:100%; max-height:400pt; overflow:auto; background-color:#f8f9fa; border: 1px solid #eaecf0; padding:0em"><pre style="margin:0px;border:none;background:none;word-wrap:break-word;width:200%;white-space: pre-wrap ! important" class="old-revision-html">&lt;html&gt;&lt;head&gt;&lt;title&gt;OverToneSeries&lt;/title&gt;&lt;/head&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;!-- ws:start:WikiTextHeadingRule:0:&amp;lt;h1&amp;gt; --&gt;&lt;h1 id="toc0"&gt;&lt;a name="Music based on the overtone series"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- ws:end:WikiTextHeadingRule:0 --&gt;Music based on the overtone series&lt;/h1&gt;
 
&lt;br /&gt;
; {{W|Georg Friedrich Haas}}
The overtone series can be mathematically generated by frequency ratios 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 6/1, 7/1... ad infinitum.&lt;br /&gt;
* String Quartet No.2, mm. 1~57
The undertone series is its inversion: 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7... ad infinitum.&lt;br /&gt;
 
Steps between adjacent members of either series are called &amp;quot;superparticular,&amp;quot; &amp;amp; they appear in the form a/(a-1), eg. 4/3, 28/27, 33/32...&lt;br /&gt;
; [[Dave Hill]]
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://sonic-arts.org/hill/10-passages-ji/10-passages-ji.htm ''Chord Progression on the Harmonic Overtone Series'']{{dead link}} [http://sonic-arts.org/hill/10-passages-ji/06_hill_chord-progression-on-harmonic-series.mp3 play]{{dead link}}
In just intonation theory, the overtone series is often treated as the foundation of consonance.&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;br /&gt;
; [[Norbert Oldani]]
One might compose with the overtone series by, for instance:&lt;br /&gt;
* ''[http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/micro/gene_ward_smith/Others/Oldani/DroneInsideAnHarmonicSeries.mp3 Drone Inside An Harmonic Series]''{{dead link}}
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tuning to the first several overtones over one fundamental.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tuning to an octave-repeating slice of the overtone series for use as a scale (for instance overtones 8 though 16, &lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/otones12-24"&gt;12 through 24&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/otones20-40"&gt;20 through 40&lt;/a&gt;... see &lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/Overtone%20Scales"&gt;Overtone Scales&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tuning to the overtones of the overtones.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tuning to the overtones of the overtones &amp;amp; the undertones of the undertones. (This can produce complex scales such as &lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/Harry%20Partch"&gt;Harry Partch&lt;/a&gt;'s 43-tone Monophonic; this kind of thing is more often called &amp;quot;&lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/JustIntonation"&gt;just intonation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;quot; than &amp;quot;overtone music&amp;quot;.)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;!-- ws:start:WikiTextHeadingRule:2:&amp;lt;h2&amp;gt; --&gt;&lt;h2 id="toc1"&gt;&lt;!-- ws:end:WikiTextHeadingRule:2 --&gt; &lt;/h2&gt;
; [[Dave Seidel]]
&lt;!-- ws:start:WikiTextHeadingRule:4:&amp;lt;h2&amp;gt; --&gt;&lt;h2 id="toc2"&gt;&lt;a name="Music based on the overtone series-External links"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- ws:end:WikiTextHeadingRule:4 --&gt;External links&lt;/h2&gt;
* [http://mysterybear.net/article/18/threnody ''Threnody'']{{dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20201127015923/http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/micro/gene_ward_smith/Others/Seidel/Threnody.mp3 play]
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://mysterybear.net/article/22/owllight ''Owllight'']{{dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20201127012201/http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/micro/gene_ward_smith/Others/Seidel/Owllight.mp3 play]
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_music" rel="nofollow"&gt;Spectral music article on wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://mysterybear.net/article/23/palimpsest ''Palimsest'']{{dead link}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20201127012920/http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/micro/gene_ward_smith/Others/Seidel/Palimpsest.mp3 play]
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.overtone.cc" rel="nofollow"&gt;Overtone music network&lt;/a&gt; - a portal for overtone music.&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.xing.com/net/overtonenetwork" rel="nofollow"&gt;Oberton-Netzwerk (Xing)&lt;/a&gt; - german-speaking group dedicated to overtone music on the social network platform &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.xing.com" rel="nofollow"&gt;Xing&lt;/a&gt;. Microtonal music in general is welcome, too.&lt;br /&gt;
; [[William Sethares]]
&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Immanent Sphere'' – [https://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/mp3s/immanent.html detail] | [https://web.archive.org/web/20201127013148/http://clones.soonlabel.com/public/micro/gene_ward_smith/Others/Sethares/ImmanentSphere.mp3 play]
&lt;!-- ws:start:WikiTextHeadingRule:6:&amp;lt;h2&amp;gt; --&gt;&lt;h2 id="toc3"&gt;&lt;a name="Music based on the overtone series-Some individual compositions"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- ws:end:WikiTextHeadingRule:6 --&gt;Some individual compositions&lt;/h2&gt;
 
&lt;br /&gt;
; [[SoundWell]] ([http://www.soundwell.com/en/music site])
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimmung" rel="nofollow"&gt;Stimmung&lt;/a&gt; by Karlheinz Stockhausen&lt;br /&gt;
* Various ("Snake" overtone flute)
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.southern.com/southern/band/BRANC/disc.html" rel="nofollow"&gt;Symphony No.3 (Gloria)&lt;/a&gt; by &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.glennbranca.com/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Glenn Branca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
 
Various by &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Friedrich_Haas" rel="nofollow"&gt;Georg Friedrich Haas&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
; [[Spectral Voices]] ([http://www.spectralvoices.com/ site])
&lt;br /&gt;
* Various (meditative new age with overtone singing)
Various played with &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.fujara.sk/audio_samples.htm" rel="nofollow"&gt;Fujara&lt;/a&gt; (slovak overtone flute)&lt;br /&gt;
 
Various by &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.soundwell.com/music-e.htm" rel="nofollow"&gt;SoundWell&lt;/a&gt; (&amp;quot;Snake&amp;quot; overtone flute)&lt;br /&gt;
; [[Stimmhorn]] ([http://www.stimmhorn.ch/ site])
Various by &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.spectralvoices.com/review.htm" rel="nofollow"&gt;Spectral Voices&lt;/a&gt; (meditative new age with overtone singing)&lt;br /&gt;
* Various (experimental alphorn and yodeling combined with overtone singing)
Various by &lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.stimmhorn.ch/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Stimmhorn&lt;/a&gt; (experimental alphorn and yodeling combined with overtone singing)&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;br /&gt;
; {{W|Karlheinz Stockhausen}}
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://eceserv0.ece.wisc.edu/%7Esethares/mp3s/immanent.html" rel="nofollow"&gt;Immanent Sphere&lt;/a&gt; by William Sethares&lt;br /&gt;
* {{W|Stimmung|''Stimmung''}} (1968)
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://mysterybear.net/article/23/palimpsest" rel="nofollow"&gt;Palimsest&lt;/a&gt; by Dave Seidel&lt;br /&gt;
* {{W|Sternklang|''Sternklang''}} (1971)
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://mysterybear.net/article/22/owllight" rel="nofollow"&gt;Owllight&lt;/a&gt; by Dave Seidel&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://mysterybear.net/article/18/threnody" rel="nofollow"&gt;Threnody&lt;/a&gt; by Dave Seidel&lt;br /&gt;
; [[Cam Taylor]]
&lt;a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.i-ching-music.com/FREE102.html" rel="nofollow"&gt;Planetary Ripples&lt;/a&gt; by Richard Burdick&lt;br /&gt;
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECLEbVXoTvA Harmonic series 4-8, 8-16 and 16-32 on the Lumatone] (2022)
&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;!-- ws:start:WikiTextHeadingRule:8:&amp;lt;h2&amp;gt; --&gt;&lt;h2 id="toc4"&gt;&lt;a name="Music based on the overtone series-See also:"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- ws:end:WikiTextHeadingRule:8 --&gt;See also:&lt;/h2&gt;
; [[Chris Vaisvil]]
&lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/Isoharmonic%20Chords"&gt;Isoharmonic Chords&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* ''Rock Trio in Harmonic Series'' (2016) – [http://chrisvaisvil.com/rock-trio-in-harmonic-series/ blog] | [http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/Nevadatite20160226_harmonic_band.mp3 play]
&lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/First%20Five%20Octaves%20of%20the%20Harmonic%20Series"&gt;First Five Octaves of the Harmonic Series&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
 
&lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/Overtone%20Scales"&gt;Overtone Scales&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
; {{W|Glenn Branca}} ([http://www.glennbranca.com/ site])
&lt;a class="wiki_link" href="/ListOfOvertones"&gt;ListOfOvertones&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;</pre></div>
* ''Symphony No. 3 "Gloria"'' (1983)
 
== See also ==
* [[Gallery of just intervals]]
* [[Isoharmonic chords]]
* [[First Five Octaves of the Harmonic Series]]
* [[Overtone scales]]
* [[List of octave-reduced harmonics]]
* [[Prime harmonic series]]
* [[Kite's thoughts on the V-I cadence in higher prime limits]]
* [[Mike Sheiman's Very Easy Scale Building From The Harmonic Series Page]]
* [[8th Octave Overtone Tuning]]
* [[Johannes Kotschy]]
 
== External links ==
* [[Wikipedia: Spectral music]]
* [http://www.naturton-musik.de/ www.naturton-musik.de]{{dead link}} - web site dedicated to overtone music (by Austrian composer Johannes Kotschy) - a lot of theory material and practical guides to write music based on the overtone series
* [http://www.overtone.cc Overtone music network] - a portal for overtone music.
* [https://www.xing.com/net/overtonenetwork Oberton-Netzwerk (Xing)]{{dead link}} - German-speaking group dedicated to overtone music on the social network platform [http://www.xing.com Xing]. Microtonal music in general is welcome, too.
* [[Noah Jordan]] videos:
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyceyPMJAb8 All Harmonics Within One Octave (1–64) | Harmonic Series Explained Visually] (2026)
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAUeGio1Fdg How Prime Harmonics Fill the Octave (≤1024) — Microtonal & Just Intonation Visualization] (2026)
 
[[Category:Harmonic]]
[[Category:Listen]]
[[Category:Terms]]