Originally Posted by Bass Thumper
Overtones (or higher harmonics) is what so many of us enjoy about the sound of musical instruments. Sure, pure tones as produced by synths are nice and have their place.

But when even a single note is played on an instrument its overtones define the "color" or timbre of that instrument. The sweet metallic sound of a muted trumpet or the bow drawn across a string of a cello produce a series of harmonics specific to that instrument. I'm sure instrument designers have understood this for centuries.
Yes, you can use and Fourier Transform to show the harmonic makeup of instrument timbre. But I doubt that "instrument designers have understood this for centuries" helped in the design of instrument. Rather, it was the general guidelines of mechanics, such as the type of bore (cylindrical vs. conical) and instrument materials that guided designers. Additionally, most changes to instruments were incremental changes, such as the Boehm fingering system, which built on other similar developments. Even the saxophone was an extension of prior designs.

But that's not what I was talking about.

I was addressing that question you had about the perception of consonance and dissonance - especially in the pentatonic scale - and what the basis was.

The properties of the overtone series of come from physics, as does how our hearing works. They are inextricably linked together. The fact that melodic and harmonic systems have been developed that match properties of these overtone ([i]i.e.[i] being able to come up with a measure of harmonic consonance using the series) as well as being able to fill in the scale via the Circle of Fifths makes - to my mind, anyway - a compelling argument that this isn't something that's based in neurology.

-- David Cuny

My virtual singer development blog
Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.