Timbre and Overtones
Why does the same note sound different on a flute, a violin and a piano? Look inside a single note: the fundamental plus overtones at two, three, four times its frequency, the harmonic series. Spell it from a low C and find the major chord hidden inside, then build a sound one partial at a time and hear how the overtone recipe and the envelope (attack and decay) give every sound its color.
In this lesson you'll
- Explain timbre: a note is a stack of frequencies, the fundamental plus overtones at 2×, 3×, 4×... its frequency, and the mix of overtones gives the color.
- Spell the harmonic series from a low C (C C G C E G, a slightly low B flat, C), find the octave 2:1 and the fifth 3:2, and the major triad in harmonics 4, 5 and 6.
- Build a sound one partial at a time, tell a flute-like tone (few, weak overtones), a brassy one (many, strong) and a clarinet-like one (odd overtones only) apart by ear, and hear how the envelope changes a sound.
Remember
Almost every musical note is a stack: the fundamental, the pitch you name, plus overtones at two, three, four times its frequency. Together they form the harmonic series.
The recipe (how loud each overtone is) and the envelope (how the note starts and fades: a piano strikes then fades, a violin can swell) give each sound its timbre.
From a low C the series spells C, C, G, C, E, G: the octave is 2:1, the fifth 3:2, and harmonics 4, 5, 6 are C, E, G, a major triad hidden inside one note.