MUSIC THEORY

Mod 8

• Subject of the Day: Overtone Series
• Reading Assignment:
• Written Assignment: Overtone Series: Write Overtone Series on E2, D2, and A2.
• Semester Schedule

When a single tone is sounded, there exists within that tone many other pitches sounding simultaneously with, but decidedly weaker than the main note (fundamental). The presence and relative strength of these other notes (overtones) determine the characteristic tone quality of the device or person intoning the note. The series of overtones is a specific pattern of intervals above the fundamental. The succession of intervals above the fundamental are as follows:

                                                           Minor 2nd
                                                       Minor 2nd
                                                   Minor 2nd
                                                Major 2nd
                                            Minor 2nd
                                       Major 2nd
                                   Major 2nd
                               Major 2nd
                           Major 2nd
                       Minor 3rd
                   Minor 3rd
               Major 3rd
           Perfect 4th
        Perfect 5th
    Octave
Fundamental

Click on the example to hear it

As you may observe, the intervals become progressively smaller as the series continues. In fact where it seems that there are several major seconds consecutively (7 - 11), in actuality each of the seconds is progressively smaller than the previous one.

Also observing the series, notice that the specific number in the series has the following relationship to the "key" of the fundamental:

 1 = tonic
 2 = tonic
 3 = dominant
 4 = tonic
 5 = mediant
 6 = dominant
 7 = subtonic
 8 = tonic
 9 = supertonic
10 = mediant
11 = raised subdominant
12 = dominant
13 = submediant
14 = subtonic
15 = leading tone
16 = tonic

One more item of information is that each numbered note of the series that is twice another note results in a note an octave higher. e.g. 6 is twice 3, thus the 6th harmonic is an octave higher than the 3rd harmonic, the 10th harmonic is an octave higher than the 5th harmonic, etc. That is why harmonics 1, 2,4, 8, and 16 are all tonics; 3, 6, and 12 are dominants; 5 and 10 are mediants;7 and 14 are subtonics.