Individual harmonics relate to each other as musical intervals, not just numeric frequency ratios.

Evidence

Acoustically, a note perceived to have a distinct pitch contains frequency components that are integer multiples of f0 usually known as “harmonics.” Each harmonic is a sine wave, and since the hearing system analyzes sounds in terms of their frequency components, it turns out to be highly instructive, in terms of understanding how to analyze and synthesize periodic sounds, as well as being central to the development of Western musical harmony, to consider the musical relationship between the individual harmonics themselves. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 800

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

• DEFINE: Defines harmonics as integer multiples of f0 and frames the harmonic series as both a physical and a musical structure.

Related

• Harmonic tones are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency (similarity 0.89)
• Harmonics are integer-related partials while partials need not be harmonic (similarity 0.89)
• Adjacent harmonics in the natural series produce progressively smaller musical intervals (similarity 0.85)
• Accurate square waves require infinitely many harmonics (similarity 0.85)
• Adjacent natural harmonics create smaller intervals as harmonic number increases. (similarity 0.84)
• Sub-harmonics are lower frequencies whose harmonic series also contain all given components. (similarity 0.84)
• Harmonic complex tones dominate daily life through speech and music (similarity 0.84)
• Partials become harmonics only when integer-related to the fundamental (similarity 0.84)
• Adjacent harmonics of a fundamental produce every familiar musical interval (similarity 0.83)
• A waveform’s sharpness dictates how many high-frequency sine waves it contains (similarity 0.83)
• Spectrum components are partials and only integer-related ones are harmonics (similarity 0.83)
• Harmony is sustained through chords of two or more simultaneous notes (similarity 0.83)
• Accentuating individual harmonics makes them perceptually break away as separate notes (similarity 0.83)
• Musical intervals trace directly to harmonic-series frequency ratios (similarity 0.82)
• The harmonic overtone series of strings is a lucky gift, not a fixable property (similarity 0.82)