Musical Soundwaves

[gordon stelter]

No, its the varying overtone sequence which causes
different instruments to sound different.
--- Kdivad@AOL.COM wrote:
> In a message dated Fri, 2 Aug 2002 8:10:24 AM
> Eastern Standard Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
> writes:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > Why does a flute sound like a flute? Why does an
> obo sound like an obo? Why does a guitar sound like
> a guitar? And last, but certainly not least, why
> does a piano sound like a piano? 
> > 
> > Does anyone have a simplistic explanation for what
> is the cause of unique sounds/tones among various
> instruments? If you play A4 at a pitch of 440 Hz on
> any instument, you will hear the pitch of 400 Hz.
> But they will all sound different. So I guess they
> all do something different to the soundwave that
> reaches your ear. What is that difference? How does
> a speaker 
> > reproduce these differences of they only move in
> and out?
> > 
> > Thanks for any thoughts.
> > 
> > Terry Farrell
> > 
> > 
> >  
> 
> Terry, a friend of mine attended a college course
> where the instructor challanged the class to
> determine the type of instrument being played just
> by listening to a recorded tone (A 440) of each
> instrument with the attack and decay portion of the
> tone removed. No one in the class could distinguish
> any of the instruments. I am not sure he is correct
> but I wonder if what he said is perhaps a clue as to
> one reason we can recognize different instruments.
> 
> David Koelzer
> Vintage Pianos
> DFW
> 


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