Week 6! Acoustics, Pitch and Timbre

 Summary-

The science of acoustics explains the sounding of pitch and overtones or harmonics. This applies to earlier posts (week 1 or 2?) about the formation of sound waves, frequency, and the physics of singing! These overtones are also responsible for the timbre of a sound.

Physics basics:

---the fundamental is the notated pitch being played/perceived/sung/heard

------>the fundamental is also the first harmonic 

------>adding the fundamental frequency to this harmonic gets the second harmonic or first overtone. It is easier to refer to it as the first overtone because it is otherwise confusing to number the overtones including the fundamental, and unless it's being looked at in a strictly mathematical sense I like to keep it as simple as possible! 

How?

---as the sound waves oscillate in space, they produce these additional harmonics whether or not they are perceived by the human ear! 

------>not only are some harmonics too high for us to perceive, but there can also be harmonics in the middle or low registers that drop out for a given fundamental. The "pitch" can be a C4, for example, and on a french horn you will hear completely different harmonics than a C4 from a guitar, singer, or a fork dinking on a plate. That's what differentiates the timbre of sounds. 

*timbre* is the tone color or resonating sound 

------>singing is the effort of tuning our resonators to the frequency of a pitch

Where can I apply this? What?

---Notice the different overtones you hear in different acoustic spaces! Even if coming from the same source, like a choir, for example, singing the same notes, a basilica will reverberate many more upper acoustics than an old choir room or a tiny locked closet! 

---Can I control my own harmonics?

------>Yes! The human voice can adjust harmonics with the resonating space. We can change the shape of our mouth or pharynx to amplify or cancel certain harmonics, even if we aren't sure which specific sounds will change. It is fun to experiment with different musical styles and sound:

------>If you choose a piece (even something simple: "Happy Birthday" sounds good) and sing it in 
Bel Canto or classical choral style, then repeat the same exact melody with twang, covered tone, or other stylistic alterations (coming in later weeks!) you will perceive different harmonics and timbres. Record yourself and listen back!