Harmonic complex tones dominate daily life through speech and music

Evidence

Complex tones containing frequencies that are related to each other by integer multiples are called harmonic sounds or harmonic tones. The lowest frequency of a complex tone is the fundamental frequency (f0), and the harmonics occur at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. There are numerous examples of harmonic sounds in our daily lives, such as vowels and sounds typically generated by stringed, woodwind, and brass musical instruments. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1180 (#expands, via linked claim)

I have defined keynote as a regular sound underpinning other more fugitive or novel sound events. The keynotes of the farm were numerous, for farming is a life with little variation. Keynotes may influence the behavior of the people or set up rhythms that are carried over into other aspects of life. One example will have to suffice. In the Russia of Tolstoy, the peasants kept whetstones in little tin boxes strapped to their waists, and the rhythmic rattling of these boxes formed a vernacular keynote during the haying months. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 172 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Observations of the pitch of complex sounds have been conducted over many centuries. Helmholtz, though not the first to make these observations, had a clear impact on the theories of pitch perception. A particularly notable observation from his time is that a complex tone produced a pitch that was similar to a tone with a frequency that matched the fundamental frequency of the complex tone. Consider the trumpet note (C4) illustrated in Figure 6–1. In general, someone would hear the pitch of this note as corresponding to middle C. Any instrument playing a note with the same fundamental frequency (261 Hz in this case), would also be perceived as having the same pitch. From observations such as these, we know that the pitch of a complex, harmonic sound is determined by the fundamental frequency. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1282 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Harmonic tones are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1180; Musical intervals trace directly to harmonic-series frequency ratios; Pitch of harmonic sounds is determined by the fundamental frequency. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1282 (+3 more)

Related

• Harmonic tones are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency (similarity 0.91)
• Pitch of harmonic sounds is determined by the fundamental frequency. (similarity 0.89)
• Harmonics are integer-related partials while partials need not be harmonic (similarity 0.88)
• Most everyday sounds are harmonic complex tones, not pure tones (similarity 0.87)
• Accurate square waves require infinitely many harmonics (similarity 0.85)
• The harmonic overtone series of strings is a lucky gift, not a fixable property (similarity 0.84)
• A waveform’s sharpness dictates how many high-frequency sine waves it contains (similarity 0.83)
• Pitch perception depends on harmonics being integer multiples of the fundamental (similarity 0.83)
• Accentuating individual harmonics makes them perceptually break away as separate notes (similarity 0.83)
• Individual harmonics relate to each other as musical intervals, not just numeric frequency ratios. (similarity 0.83)
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms (similarity 0.82)
• Perceived musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic pressure waves. (similarity 0.81)
• Perceived pitch is set primarily by fundamental frequency. (similarity 0.81)
• Unambiguous pitch perception requires a periodically repeating acoustic waveform (similarity 0.81)
• The fundamental frequency of a pitched sound is measurable from its waveform period (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Harmonic tones are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency #expands (0.90) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1180
• Pitch of harmonic sounds is determined by the fundamental frequency. #expands (0.80) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1282
• Keynote sounds underpin and rhythmically shape daily life #exemplifies (0.80) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 172
• Musical intervals trace directly to harmonic-series frequency ratios #exemplifies (0.75)
• Clear musical pitch arises from regularly repeating acoustic waveforms #corroborates (0.75)
• Accentuating individual harmonics makes them perceptually break away as separate notes #complicates (0.70)