Slightly inharmonic spectra are musically preferred over strictly harmonic ones

Evidence

The results displayed in Fig. 16.48 suggest that irrespective of the melody played, the realisation of the E-guitar sound by inharmonic spectra is slightly preferred compared to a realisation with strictly harmonic spectra. This means that the inhannonicity of strings is not a physically inevitable flaw, hut slightly inharmonic spectra are preferred in a musical context. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 2049

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• CANDY: Counterintuitive tidbit: even ‘imperfect’ guitar inharmonicity is preferred by listeners.

Related

• String instrument inharmonicity may be not merely unavoidable but perceptually desirable (similarity 0.94)
• String instruments naturally produce inharmonic partial spectra. (similarity 0.92)
• String-instrument inharmonicity is testable as contributing to sound quality (similarity 0.92)
• Guitar-string inharmonicity creates audible beats on low strings. (similarity 0.86)
• The inharmonicity of real strings is a desirable feature, not a defect (similarity 0.86)
• Harmonic versus inharmonic spectra of a note are plainly perceptible to a listener (similarity 0.86)
• Inharmonic strings would sound like chimes regardless of frets or fingering (similarity 0.84)
• Harmonic spectra never occur exactly in real objects (similarity 0.84)
• Real strings’ slightly mistuned partials are a loved feature, not a flaw. (similarity 0.82)
• Real strings show slightly sharp partials because tight curvature stiffens them like bars (similarity 0.80)
• Slightly mistuned piano strings produce richer, longer-lasting sound (similarity 0.80)
• A string’s stiffness raises its higher-frequency modes above the ideal values (similarity 0.79)
• String stiffness raises the frequency of a piano’s higher modes relative to the fundamental. (similarity 0.79)
• A tiny extra mass ruins a string’s harmonic spacing and makes it sound sour (similarity 0.79)
• Most vibrating objects produce inharmonic partials, unlike the ideal string (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• String-instrument inharmonicity is testable as contributing to sound quality #corroborates (0.82) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 2044
• String stiffness raises component mode frequencies above the harmonic series, creating inharmonicity #corroborates (0.82) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1090