Pitch and Partials/Harmonics

Musical tones have partials that are integer multiples of a fundamental frequency--the pitch frequency.

The fundamental frequency need not be present.

• (illustrate with pitchpartials.m).

In experiments by Fletcher, filtering out low frequencies would not

• impede recognition of instruments
• change sensation of pitch.

This is conistent with our everday experience listening through earbuds in which a full bandwidth is not present.

Fletcher initially (incorrectly) proposed that the missing fundamental was recreated by nonlinearities in the ear.

Later concluded that a tone must include 3 successive harmonics in order to hear the pitch frequency.