Harmonics And Distortion

Up to this point in the series we’ve focused on characterising each sound with a single frequency representing its pitch. In today’s article we’ll consider the other frequencies present in musical sounds.

Compound frequencies, harmonics, blah blah blah!

Right?

No; actually in the real world, most sounds are made up of more than one frequency. We’ll forgo the actual full-on physics formula for sound creation, as that is way past our scope here…BUT…what IS of importance is that most sounds have a blend, or ratio, of multiple frequencies that resonate to create the sound that you hear. Hence the term ‘compound’ frequencies.

Harmonics

Now, speaking of this resonance business; all of the frequencies contained in a sound except for the main (‘fundamental’ or ‘dominant’) frequency are called harmonics. Usually, they are found at precise multiples of the main frequency. The pattern is this: Click to read the rest…