On Sep 2, 2009, at 1:09 PM, Shane Mage wrote:
> The "fundamental" vibration is the "note" you hear. That note is
> not a pure tone--it includes a series of secondary vibrations
And the pattern - relative strength - of those overtones is what gives musical instruments their timbre. The reason a clarinet sounds different from a flute or a piano is the overtone structure.
Doug