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. | 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). | ||
[[Category:Terms]] | [[Category:Terms]] | ||