Harmonics

Have you ever wondered what harmonics are? What is timbre? What exactly is sound? Joe Green takes a non-scientific approach to answering these questions.

Ask a guitarist about harmonics and the chances are he’ll know a bit about the subject. He’ll start banging on about proportions of string length, set into simple motion, which is to a point correct. But what harmonics are goes much deeper than just this. They are, in fact, an intrinsic part of every sound we hear; especially sounds we regard as musical. In this article we’ll look at what harmonics are, what causes them, why we’d notice if they weren’t there, and why they play an incredibly important part in everything we hear.

This feature first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 01
Filed under Ten Minute Masters

/mtm/features/harmonics

New users, please register here

Please enter your details below to set up your new account. Fields marked with a red asterisk * are required.

Your name
*First name:
*Last name:
Job title:
Company:

Account settings
*Email address:
	Please make sure your email address is correct, as we will send you an email with a link to activate your account.
*Username:
	Choose a username between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces or unusual characters. You may use your email address as your username, but note that it may appear in community areas of the site where others can see it.
*Password:
*Confirm password:
	Choose a password between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces.
	Remember me on this computer

Your address and contact info
Address 1:

Town or city:
County or state:
Postcode or ZIP:
Country:
Telephone:
Fax:
Website:

	By registering to use the Music Tech website you agree to allow us to contact you with our Music Tech email newsletters featuring news, competitions, exclusive content and special offers, as well as with communications from our carefully selected music technology retail and manufacturer partners. If you provide phone and post details we may contact you by those means as well with special offers relating specifically to Music Tech Magazine and our other publications. WE WILL NOT PASS YOUR DETAILS TO ANY THIRD PARTY. If at any time you wish to stop receiving our email newsletter, simply follow the Unsubscribe instruction on our newsletter. Contact us by email of post if you wish your post or phone details to be removed from our database.

MTM 100	Ten Minute Master: Audio Metering From FFT spectrum analysis to stereo vectorscopes, the way that we visualise audio is crucial to successful recording. Mark Cousins watches his meters.	MTM 96	10MM 194 - Sampled string articulations Sampled string libraries generally offer a good range of articulations, but what exactly are the differences between them? Mark Cousins has the lowdown.
MTM 96	10MM 193 - Notch filtering The notch filter is an important part of the arsenal of EQ and filtering tools, but it often goes under-used. Grant Bridgeman filters out the details.	MTM 95	10MM 191 - Comb filtering Comb filtering is a natural phenomenon that affects everything we hear – whether applied deliberately or not. Grant Bridgeman explains all.
MTM 95	10MM 192 - Analogue warmth In this digital age, the relative warmth of analogue recording technology seems to have increasing appeal. Mark Cousins turns up the heat.	MTM 94	10MM 189 - Dynamic microphones Dynamic microphones are a standard choice for both studio work and live performance. Grant Bridgeman finds out what makes them so... dynamic.
MTM 94	10MM 190 - The Vocoder From Mr Blue Sky to the voice of the Cylons, the vocoder has delivered some intriguing and unusual sounds. Mark Cousins takes a listen.	MTM 93	10MM 188 - Tape echo Tape echo remains one of the most distinctive and popular lo-fi effects, used to great effect both on stage and in the studio. Mark Cousins gets dirty...

Sign in to download this article

New users, please register here

See also...

Menu