source file: mills2.txt Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 21:26:19 -0800 Subject: Harmonics, Partials, Overtones From: Gary Morrison >I stand semantic correction. I had always understood "partials" >to mean multiples of a frequency. i.e frequency multiplied by an >integer. >I have been using the term "harmonics" in the musical >(what you hear) sense rather than in the mathematical sense. I've always taken partials to mean: * "Partials" to mean frequency components of a sound whether or not they are harmonically related. * "Overtones" to mean essentially the same as partials, but implying frequency components above the perceived pitch of the tone as a whole. * "Harmonics" to mean partials that are in fact harmonically related. Unfortunately, I don't think there's any realistic way out of "harmonic" having two meanings, those of musical harmony and of integer-frequency relationships. I say that because "harmonic" is already a mathematical term to that effect, and I don't think that anybody would be interested in purging the music world of words whose root is "harmony". Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sat, 8 Feb 1997 06:31 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA29601; Sat, 8 Feb 1997 06:31:21 +0100 Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA29686 Received: from by ella.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) id VAA15933; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 21:29:44 -0800 Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 21:29:44 -0800 Message-Id: <32FC0E37.50D3@ix.netcom.com> Errors-To: madole@mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@ella.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@ella.mills.edu