Farrell wrote: > > 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 > > Simplistic answers will abound, tho I am not really sure your whistle for knowing will be sufficiently wetted by them. Get a nice book on music acoustics like the Benade book and read about things. But in a nutshell, differing sounds represent differing timbres. RicB
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