Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments
Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments
Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Tones, overtones, harmonics, and partials<br />
The base, or core, frequency of a sound is known as its fundamental tone.<br />
The waveforms of all sounds, apart from a basic sine wave, consist of the fundamental tone and<br />
many other tones of different frequencies.<br />
Nonfundamental tones that are whole-number multiples of the fundamental tone are known<br />
as overtones or harmonics. (A tone with a frequency that is a fraction of the fundamental tone is<br />
referred to as a subharmonic.)<br />
••<br />
The fundamental tone is referred to as the first harmonic. This is generally louder than the<br />
other harmonics.<br />
••<br />
A tone played at twice the frequency of the first harmonic is called the second harmonic.<br />
••<br />
A tone played at four times the frequency of the first harmonic is called the fourth harmonic,<br />
and so on.<br />
Each of these harmonics has a timbral quality that is different from that of the fundamental tone.<br />
In general, harmonics that can be multiplied or divided by a whole number, such as octaves,<br />
odd-numbered or even-numbered harmonics, and so on, sound more “musical.”<br />
Tones that cannot be multiplied or divided by a whole number are known as inharmonic<br />
overtones, or partial tones. When you combine a number of these inharmonic overtones, it tends<br />
to sound “noisy.”<br />
Nonfundamental tones that are multiplied by fractional amounts—not whole numbers—are<br />
called partials.<br />
The frequency spectrum<br />
A fundamental tone, when combined with various harmonics of different levels, is perceived<br />
as a sound. The level relationships between these sonic elements change over time (controlled<br />
by envelopes, as described in Amplifier envelope overview). The combination of a number of<br />
harmonics is referred to as the harmonic spectrum or, more commonly, the frequency spectrum.<br />
The frequency spectrum shows all individual sonic elements in a sound. It is shown low to high,<br />
and runs from left to right over time. The respective levels of all harmonics are reflected vertically,<br />
with taller spikes indicating higher levels.<br />
Frequency spectrum<br />
graphic of an organ sound<br />
The illustration shows the level and frequency relationships between the fundamental tone<br />
and the harmonics at a particular moment in time. These relationships constantly change over<br />
time, which results in continuous changes to the frequency spectrum and, therefore, changes to<br />
the sound.<br />
Appendix B Synthesizer Basics 474