Frequency:
Frequency means the number of cycles per second and depending on the amount of cycles per second determines how high or low pitched the sound is and the time that it takes to complete one cycle is called the period. Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz). And An average human is able to hear sounds between 20Hz and 20,000Hz.
As the cycles per second increases, the smaller the wavelengths become, therefore there is a higher frequency which will cause the pitch of the sound to increase or get higher.
If there is frequency of say 20KHz then it is going to be a much higher pitch than a 20Hz because there is a lot more cycles per second.
Fundamentals:
A fundamental is the lowest frequency of vibration for any oscillator and this is known as (f) this is also the 1st harmonic. The next lowest frequency the oscillator will vibrate at is exactly double the frequency of the fundamental. Known as (2f) and the 2nd harmonic. The next lowest is called (3f) and this carries on.
Harmonics:
A harmonic is a frequency that an object called a “Harmonic Oscillator” will naturally vibrate at. The harmonics will occur periodically to the fundamental frequency at equally spaced (by width) points The resultant frequency is all of the frequencies put together and is what we see when we see a sound frequency.
There are two types of harmonics, odd and even.
Even harmonics are ones that sound pleasing nice to the ear. Even harmonics are those that have an even multiple of the fundamental frequency so if the fundamental frequency was 440Hz then the next harmonic would be at 880Hz and this is even.
Harmonic Points
Harmonic Points
Odd harmonics are the odd multiples of the fundamental and these don’t sound as nice and have a harsher sound. If the fundamental was 440Hz then the first odd harmonic would be 970Hz. !!!
Harmonic Frequencies on a graph
Harmonic Frequencies on a graph
Waveforms: There are four