The Harmonic Series: What it is and How It Creates Timbre

The first in a series of videos in which I discuss the influence that the harmonic series, thought originally to have been discovered by Pythagoras, has had on the development of western music since the Middle Ages and the influence it will continue to have in the future.
Subscribe for more on music theory/history and digital music production: www.youtube.com/@robertlennon...
This video consists of an introduction to the elements of music followed by a detailed examination of timbre - the factor that gives an instrument its particular tone colour or timbre.
Check out the other videos in this series: • Pythagoras & the Music...
Chapters;
00:00 Opening Titles and Introduction to the Series
02:01 The Elements of Music
04:52 Physical Determinants of Pitch
06:54 How Harmonics are Generated in Musical Instruments
08:48 The Harmonic Series Explained
10:58 Harmonics and Timbre - Instrumental Spectra
13:58 Spectra of Orchestral Instruments Compared
15:38 Harmonic and Inharmonic Timbres Compared
#pythagorasmusic #harmonicseries #timbres

[@warrenosborne6044]

I worked 4 years using the Fast Fourier Transform to break raw sea noise and derive individual frequencies. Using this process the location of Soviet submarines could be detected thousands of miles away. SOSUS

[@robertlennonmused]

Wow - there's an application I wouldn't have thought of! Thanks for the comment.

[@Draxtor]

As a 52 year old Conservatory graduate father of a 19 year old, who I am currently coaching for his Abitur in Germany, I am delighted to see Sean Connery running an amazing KZbin channel, disguised as a Robert Lennon THANK YOU 🙏

[@robertlennonmused]

Thanks very much for the kind feedback. I'll take the Sean Connery reference as a compliment - albeit undeserved! 😂

[@williampeters6516]

Awesome! Thank you so much for this video! I'm in Calculus II and we were learning about the Harmonic Series. The question of where the title came from came up in class and I was tasked with finding out. This definitely helped me to understand. Keep making videos like this, I loved it!

[@robertlennonmused]

Thanks very much! I'm very happy that it was useful!

[@cedfi0z]

I'm a philosophy graduate student extremely interested in Schoenberg and atonal music and I am very grateful for this series! This is a wonderfully lucid explanation for someone who is a complete amateur in this area. I was wondering if there are any books you might recommend that explain it further?

[@KalebPeters99]

Robert, this was wonderful! I loved seeing the spectrum of different instruments at the end there, that makes it so intuitive. I'm keen to watch the rest!

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you very much - I'm really pleased it was useful! Do watch the others in order if you can - there's a story that unfolds.

[@ralph12d]

Very clear! A more in depth look at inharmonic partials and bell tuning and such would be great! Thank you!

[@rudolfusmaximus]

that is nothing less than a simply perfect presentation ! You are a fantastic teacher

[@robertlennonmused]

Wow, thank you! Very kind of you.

[@WinItReigns]

Straight Knowledge. Understanding better the the thing we Love, the human relationship to Music. Take Note.

[@jawneethecurious]

Very educational. The power of electronics to display it... thx!

[@SwaagMan]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge mate

[@robertlennonmused]

My pleasure!

[@freedoompictures6839]

Great explanations of a diverse set of topics. We need more of this!

[@robertlennonmused]

Many thanks. Glad it was helpful. Do check out the other videos in the series!

[@dafnemasin3614]

Really well explained and the production of the video is great. Thank you!

[@robertlennonmused]

Thanks very much. Nice to know it's useful!

[@RonWellsJS]

Excellent learning, thank you. shared.

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@Don-ev5ov]

Brilliant. I hope you continue with this channel.

[@robertlennonmused]

That's the plan! Many thanks.

[@erengumus7440]

Firstly, I want to thank for this video, this is amazing! But I want to ask something. How can we interpret the natural harmonics in the guitar? Thanks again.

[@enzocypriani5055]

I am following the series, great content!

[@robertlennonmused]

That's nice to know. Many thanks!

[@scottdunn7484]

Great lesson.

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you!

[@LRPMQLRPC]

I casually started by the video number 3. I immediately felt the need to watch the rest of the series. Very interesting videos!

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you very much! I'm very pleased that you found them interesting. The next in the series is due quite soon. Thanks again.

[@GEMINDIGO]

Fantastically well presented my friend!! Interesting and informative,clear and concise.Thanks for the free education!!!

[@robertlennonmused]

My pleasure!

[@pdefatta57]

Thank you for your contribution to spreading musical knowledge. You're a good teacher.

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you very much!

[@Steelianos]

Great video, Robert! Greetings from Greece!

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you very much!

[@josephlam6560]

Very nice explanation

[@robertlennonmused]

Thank you.

[@cosmicbeaver]

Fantastic video

[@robertlennonmused]

Thanks! 😃

[@cosmicbeaver]

I look forward to watching the rest of them in the series. @@robertlennonmused

[@alhadparashtekar1314]

Great explanation. I enjoyed it very much. Worth watching multiple times to connect with music that we hear. Can you suggest any book?

[@robertlennonmused]

Thanks you very much - I'm glad you enjoyed it. Actually, I don't know of any books that trace the development of musical elements in relation to the harmonic series. The research that I do is mostly papers and articles online. Perhaps I'd better write the book myself!

[@fretnesbutke3233]

Leonard Bernstein's Harvard Lectures may touch on the subject,and in general is very entertaining. "Horns,Strings & Harmony" by Arthur H. Benade is a fascinating book connecting physics and music theory that I think may be exactly what you're looking for. I hope it's still in print. What's really fun is synthesizer software and a keyboard plugged into a USB port on a computer. They have their own very colorful graphics of a modern oscilloscope. Electronic music textbooks necessarily discuss the harmonic series' relation to timbre.

[@bigdon37]

Although gongs are not in the harmonic series ( idiophone), they are overtones rich instruments with long sustain. And when played correctly they do bring a sense of harmony to the sound recipient. But the question remains, how are they so conducive to wellbeing in sound meditation yet, they don’t belong in any predictable system or notation. The full sound spectrum producing an array of overtones are indeed stable within the gong, it’s just a matter of pulling different aspects of it. The resonance, vibration has to be the key.

[@Surya-dv6if]

Thank you for this clear presentation. I wonder what creates inharmonic timbre? As in a gong, couild it be the case that there are actually multiple fundamentals 'clashing' with their inherent overtones? Or are there other reasons for its existence?

[@KalpaHettiarachchi]

❤great

[@robertlennonmused]

Many thanks!

[@samanthamoroney2214]

This is a wonderful video! I'm actually currently writing my master's thesis on the Fourier mathematics necessary for analyzing certain aspects of music and this is MORE than relevant! Did you use a particular program to run the FFTs and visualize the charts at the end? I am looking for a good one and this looks great!

[@robertlennonmused]

Many thanks for the kind feedback! The program is, in fact, a plugin used in a DAW, called Voxengo Span. Originally intended for audio engineers to analyse frequency content. Thanks very much once again, I'm delighted that you found the video useful.

[@ManuelRequena]

Hi Robert! Super interesting stuff and extremely well organized. Thanks for doing the video! This is the first one of the series I've seen, but just wanted to ask a question (Forgive me if it is something you explain already in the next ones): From what I've understand about 'inharmonic timbres', would you agree that this are more present in instruments that have difficulty (or at least more physical resistance) vibrating for longer periods of time without requiring to much energy input? (I'm mostly refering to woodblocks, snare drums, closed hi-hats, shaker). Thanks again for the video! Ultra nice :)

[@robertlennonmused]

Hi Manuel. Thanks very much for the kind feedback. I'd agree partially with your theory about inharmonic timbres. I think it is more to do with the materials from which they are made, but yes, typically, they are produced by instruments that have just attack and decay - no sustain. This would apply to percussion, especially metallic, instruments. This aspect, as well as the broader implications of inharmonic timbres, are discussed in the 3rd video of the series. Thanks again for your comment!

[@josieemery8093]

I was going to say, "Suddenly the scales fell from my ears..." but that would have been too terrible a pun.