The number of harmonics audible halves with each octave rise in pitch
Evidence
Thus an instrument playing the A above middle C, which has an f0 of 440 Hz, could theoretically contain 36 (= 16,000/440) harmonics within the human hearing range. If this instrument played a note an octave higher, f0 is doubled to 880 Hz, and the output could now theoretically contain 18 (= 16,000/880) harmonics. This is an increasingly important consideration, since although there is often an upper frequency limit to an acoustic instrument that is well within the practical upper frequency range of human hearing, it is quite possible with electronic synthesizers to produce sounds with harmonics that extend beyond this upper frequency limit. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 798
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- QUESTION: Worth chasing: what happens perceptually when electronic synthesizers emit harmonics beyond the audible range — subsonic/ultrasonic content affecting perceived timbre indirectly?
Related
- The audible harmonic count of a note depends on hearing’s 16 kHz upper limit (similarity 0.91)
- Most instruments occupy only a portion of the audible frequency range (similarity 0.81)
- Upper harmonics swing more in frequency than lower ones during vibrato (similarity 0.79)
- Accentuating individual harmonics makes them perceptually break away as separate notes (similarity 0.79)
- A note needs a minimum cycle count to be heard as pitched (similarity 0.78)
- Only about 1,400 discriminable pitches exist across the entire audible range (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- The audible harmonic count of a note depends on hearing’s 16 kHz upper limit
#expands(0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 799