Harmonic series

The sequence of frequencies formed by a fundamental frequency and its whole-number multiples. Its members are called harmonics and help determine the timbre of many sounds.

Fundamental frequency: The lowest frequency of a periodic sound, which sets its perceived pitch. Every harmonic is an integer multiple of this starting frequency.
Timbre: The quality that distinguishes sounds with the same pitch and loudness. Harmonic amplitudes strongly influence the timbre of pitched sounds.
Frequency: The number of repetitions of a periodic event per unit of time. Harmonics are defined by their frequency ratios to the fundamental.
Subharmonic: A frequency equal to a fundamental divided by a positive integer greater than one. Subharmonics divide a base frequency rather than multiply it.
Overtone: A frequency component above a sound’s fundamental; its numbering differs from harmonic numbering. Overtone order counts above the fundamental, unlike harmonic order, which includes it.
Harmonic spectrum (music): The pattern of frequencies and amplitudes composing a musical tone, often organized around a fundamental. Its peaks reveal which harmonics give an instrument its characteristic sound.
Period (physics): The time required for one complete cycle of a repeating process. A periodic sound’s cycle duration determines its fundamental frequency.
Overtone series: The ordered sequence of overtones above a fundamental, numbered from the first overtone upward. Its numbering starts after the fundamental, unlike the harmonic series.
Fourier series: A representation of a periodic function as a sum of sinusoidal components at integer multiples of a base frequency. It explains how a periodic waveform can be decomposed into harmonics.
Missing fundamental: The perception of a pitch whose fundamental frequency is absent but whose harmonics remain. A harmonic series can signal a pitch even when its first frequency is missing.

Linked from 36 pages