The unresolved seventh harmonic imparts reedy timbre to instruments like the clarinet

Evidence

Notes excluding the seventh harmonic sound considerably less “reedy” than those with it; the seventh harmonic is one of the lowest that is not resolved by the hearing system (provided the sixth and/or eighth are/is also present). … The clarinet has a particular timbre of its own due to the dominance of the odd harmonics in its output, and it is often described as being “nasal.” — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1478

Notes excluding the seventh harmonic sound considerably less “reedy” than those with it; the seventh harmonic is one of the lowest that is not resolved by the hearing system (provided the sixth and/or eighth are/is also present). This last point is relevant to the clarinet, where the seventh harmonic is present but both the sixth and eighth are weak. The clarinet has a particular timbre of its own due to the dominance of the odd harmonics in its output, and it is often described as being “nasal.” — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1478

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why does an unresolved (unresolvable?) harmonic add ‘reediness’? The mechanism tying resolvability to perceived reediness isn’t spelled out here.
• SHARE: A clarinet/organ friend would enjoy the mapped connection between stop registration and the physics of harmonic resolution.
• DEFINE: Explains ‘reediness’ as an artifact of the seventh harmonic sitting in the hearing system’s unresolved region.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1478
• XREF: connects to: The clarinet’s hollow timbre stems from its half-open bore missing even harmonics.; An oboe-like timbre is reproduced by four harmonics with exponentially decreasing amplitudes — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5290; Each instrument’s timbre is defined by its unique recipe of harmonic partials (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Timbre reduces to a weighted ratio of fundamental and resolved versus unresolved harmonics #expands (0.85)
• Instrument timbre differences stem from harmonic spectra that shape masking breadth #exemplifies (0.80) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 449
• Only harmonics below the fifth to seventh are individually resolved in timbre perception #corroborates (0.80)
• Pipe organ stops can reinforce non-octave harmonics to reshape timbre #complicates (0.72)