I have always thought that a note, for example G5, to be G5 because it’s a certain frequency. So if everyone is singing the same frequency, how does it still sound different from person to person and from instrument to instrument?
In: 5
It mostly has to do with harmonics. When you play any note on anything that makes a sound, you’re producing more than just that note. If you play a note with a frequency of 100Hz, then you’re also inadvertently also producing notes at frequencies of 200Hz, 300Hz, 400Hz, and every integer multiple of the base frequency, that we call the **fundamental**. It is the various sound level differences between these peaks that determine the sound of the instrument. Clarinets have a lot of sound at the fundamental, but very little sound at the overtones. As a result, it sounds very similar to a sine wave. Guitars on the other hand produce a lot of overtone sounds, creating a brighter timbre. But if you use an equalizer to remove all the frequencies above the fundamental, a guitar sounds very similar to a clarinet.
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