Musical Acoustics Demonstrations
Musical Intervals and Harmonics
Background
The same basic music intervals are found in virtually all cultures,
even though they differ in other aspects. This similarity is due
to the way that humans perceive sounds with harmonic components.
Instructions
Six of the strongest musical intervals are presented: M3 (major 3rd),
P4 (perfect 4th), P5 (perfect 5th), M6 (major 6th), and P8 (perfect
octave). In each case, there will be three sounds, first the low
note, then the upper note, then the two notes together. Each tone
has 7 harmonics. Notice the relationships among the harmonics!
Play the sound file
Csound files
interval.sco
Supported by Baldwin-Wallace College and the Acoustical Society of
America