Discussion 2e - The Overtone Series

Class discussion

Two different systems for labeling the overtone series, either one is good

• Fundamental + x overtone. Ex: in C, the Bb in the treble clef staff is the sixth overtone.
• Partials, which do not differentiate between the fundamental and the other overtones. Ex: in C, the Bb in the treble clef staff is the seventh partial.

Methods for memorizing how to write out an overtone series

• 854-3332 + Lydian scale to the fifth
  • This method requires you to remember the quality of the intervals in the “phone number,” and also that the “scale” includes the last note of the phone number as do
• Can think of it as tonic, subdominant, dominant
  • Working in C, the first 4 notes suggest C, the next 4 suggest the dominant of F (C’s subdominant), and the last 4 are sol la ti do in G (C’s dominant)

Timbre = how your brain interprets the overtone series

A “big” sound (the kind we usually hear in professional musicians) just means that there’s a strong fundamental and a LOT of overtones in that person’s sound.

If the overtone series exists everywhere, how did different systems of music evolve?

• In the case of gamelan and some types of Indian music, these systems were based off of the instruments constructed to play that music, not the voice