k
Date: Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:44 pm ((PDT))
Hi again,
Actually, I should be more precise: "Pitch" refers to the (human) perceptio=
n of the frequency of a sound, although for our purposes and in music the w=
ords are used interchangeably.
Cheers,
VLad
Wolodymyr Smishkewych
wolodymyrsmishkewych.com
On 13 Apr 2010, at 19:36, Wolodymyr Smishkewych wrote:
> Hi Aliza,
>
> (I'll reply from my position as a classical singer and voice pedagogue; w=
hile not a physicist or acoustician, we are required to have a strong funda=
mental knowledge of acoustics).
> Pitch and harmonics are two different properties of sound--actually, pitc=
h is a property of a sound wave, which is a compression wave. Pitch is the =
(relative) speed of a sound wave's cycles, for example, common concert A is=
in modern orchestral pitch established at 440 Hz, or cycles per second.
>
> Harmonics are the waveforms which are individual components of a sound an=
d which, combined, allow the ear to recognize the color or timbre of a soun=
d (attack, decay, vibrato, loudness, and pitch all combine to this overall =
picture, of course). Basically, what lets you distinguish an /a/ (as in "fa=
ther")from an /u/ (as in "food") from an /E/ (as in "met") is the harmonic =
content. Harmonics themselves are whole-number multiples of the fundamental=
frequency of a vibrating body.
>
> You can think of harmonics a bit like your EQ meter--what gives you the c=
haracteristic of a given sound is how much of each harmonic is present, sor=
t of how you select certain bands of frequency on the EQ to boost bass, mid=
s, and trebles--except the comparison isn't quite that precise.
>
> So to answer your specific question: (almost entirely) independent of _pi=
tch_, more sonorous vowels can be described as those richer in harmonics.
> In the human voice, what carries classical singers' voices across orchest=
ras and allows human singing to be powerful and audible through other sound=
s, is the presence of an unusually intense formant band (cluster of high-en=
ergy harmonics) present ca. 2200-2400Hz. This is often referred to as the s=
inger's formant, or more colloquially, the singer's 'ring.'
>
> There is a good brief explanation with helpful images at the following si=
te:
> http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/timbre.html
> with a note about distinguishing harmonics and overtones at:
> http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/music/otone.html#c1
>
> hope this helps!
> Vlad
>
>
> Wolodymyr Smishkewych
> wolodymyrsmishkewych.com
>
>
>
>
> On 13 Apr 2010, at 19:05, alizaleroux wrote:
>
>> As person who's been studying animal vocalizations far more than human v=
ocalizations, I am a little unclear about some aspects of human sounds.
>>
>> I was wondering if more sonorous vowels can also be described as more ha=
rmonic and higher pitched? Or is this too simplistic a description?
>>
>> Thank you for your help!
>> Aliza
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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