Harmonic series (music)

Pitched musical instruments are usually based on a harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air. Both can and do oscillate at numerous frequencies simultaneously. Because of the self-filtering nature of resonance, these frequencies are mostly limited to integer multiples of the lowest possible frequency, and such multiples form the harmonic series.

External links

• The interaction of reflected waves on a string is illustrated in a simplified animation that can be found at Edward Zobel's "Zona Land".
• A Web-based Multimedia Approach to the Harmonic Series
• Bells worth listening to: A composer and a sculptor from Melbourne have developed the world's first harmonic bells