How can the same note sound different depending on who or what is producing it?

Question

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

Answer 1

The central frequency of a G5 is the same frequency regardless of who or what is producing it, but the overall “character” of the note (what we call Timbre) varies from instrument to instrument. There will be other frequencies that are multiples or fractions of the central frequency, and the pattern of what other frequencies can be heard, how loud they are relative to the central frequency, and how long they last all make a difference on the final sound.