Kite Guitar explanation for non-microtonalists: Difference between revisions

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 ==== The harmonic series ====
-An absolute musical pitch can be labeled with a precise frequency, e.g. A below middle-C is 220hz. But most musical tones are a combination of multiple frequencies at once. A single guitar string may contain A-110 along with A-220, E-330, A-440, etc. In that case, there's a simple pattern: the lowest frequency (also called the "fundamental") and multiples of it. Such a pattern is called a ''harmonic series'', and each of the frequencies are called ''harmonics''.
+An absolute musical pitch can be labeled with a precise frequency. For example, the 5th string on a standard guitar is an "A", and it is tuned to 110Hz. But like most musical tones, the sound is actually a combination of multiple frequencies at once. That one string sound has A-110 along with A-220, E-330, A-440, and so on. Notice the pattern: the lowest frequency (also called the "fundamental") and multiples of that. That pattern is called the ''harmonic series'', and each of the frequencies in it are called ''harmonics''.
 String instruments, wind instruments, and even the human voice all make ''harmonic'' sounds that follow the harmonic series. In contrast, drums and bells can have other combinations which are ''inharmonic''. Understanding the harmonic series is <u>essential</u> for understanding most microtonal music theory.