RE: Harmonic instruments

> Jacky wrote,
>
> >Since harmonic instruments represent a minority on the World
> Stage of
> >music, and true harmonic timbres are very rare in nature (but can
> >abound in electronics)

Paul wrote:
> Disagree -- the human voice, bowed strings, brass, and reed
> instruments have
> true harmonic timbres. These sorts of instruments are found
> all over the
> world.

I have a question. Whenever the overtones of an instrument are not true
harmonic, are they always sharp or always flat? Or do both occur in different
families of instruments; do instruments in family 'A' have a stretched overtone
series, but family 'B' has a squashed overtone series?

If it is equally common for both to occur, then the average would be close to
true harmonic. It would then make sense to produce scales for general use
while assuming true harmonics, especially if many families of instruments are
to be heard together.

DARREN McDOUGALL
Australia

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "McDougall, Darren Scott - MCDDS001"
<MCDDS001@S...> wrote:
> If it is equally common for both to occur, then the average would
be close to
> true harmonic. It would then make sense to produce scales for
general use
> while assuming true harmonics, especially if many families of
instruments are
> to be heard together.
>
> DARREN McDOUGALL
> Australia

Darren,

It's very interesting that you have this perception, as I would
totally agree in every way that "averaging" can be a solution. This
becomes exceedingly important when considering the close matching of
timbre to tuning for ensembles of metallophone instruments. Working
with harmonic timbres is much easier for the generalized tunings you
speak of, but altogether different with inharmonic ones.

But certainly hearing is believing. Until one actually hears, and
makes music with the effect of tunings matched to inharmonic
partials, then it's all conjecture. I agree with JdL. It *is*
something wonderful to hear, and not so subtle. This is an active
area of research and music making in my quarter, of which I plan to
share the music and theory in this forum at some future time.

Thanks,

Jacky Ligon

Darren McDougal wrote,

>I have a question. Whenever the overtones of an instrument are not true
>harmonic, are they always sharp or always flat? Or do both occur in
different
>families of instruments; do instruments in family 'A' have a stretched
overtone
>series, but family 'B' has a squashed overtone series?

Of the instruments with inharmonic partials, there are two main families.
First you have the plucked strings, which generally have partials which are
slightly stretched. Then you have metallophones and drums, which generally
have partials so different from an integer harmonic series that it wouldn't
make much sense to think of it either as a "stretched overtone series" _or_
a "squashed overtone series".