Posted by Rick Denney on July 10, 2001 at 09:55:06:
In Reply to: Re: New Article on my Web Page posted by Joe S. on July 09, 2001 at 22:26:15:
I don't know. I'll get someone with a beautiful sound and record them, heh, heh.
I didn't record and analyze all pitches, and I wasn't looking for the most beautiful-sounding notes. Also, I'm no judge of a sound's beauty from the mouthpiece. One thing I learned from listening to my teachers is that a beautiful sound out in the hall doesn't necessarily correspond to a beautiful sound up close.
But with those disclaimers in place, the 12th partial (counting the fundamental as the first partial) was at -40 dB with the York, and at -50 dB with the Miraphone. In the case of the York, that's about 7 or 8 % of the loudest overtones, which means it's about like turning the volume down enough to make a noticeably difference four or five times. In the case of the Miraphone, you'd turn it down three or four more times after that. So, it is not strong in either instrument, but it is much stronger in the York than in the Miraphone. My guess is my low Bb on the York had strong overtones up to the 10th overtone, and from there to the 12th were less strong. Above that, and they might not be hearable (which doesn't mean they don't affect the sound). The Miraphone's overtones were strong up to the 6th or so, with weaker overtones from there up to the 10th. In both, the 5th overtone was noticeably weak compared to its neighbors, as was the 7th on the York.
Overtones 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 are, of course, octave overtones. The overtones on the fifth of the major scale are 3, 6, and 12. The major 3rd overtones are 5 and 10, and the 7th of the chord, which is flat compared to a diatonic scale, are on overtones 7 and 14.
So, it would seem to me that a horn with a strong fundamental sound would be strong on 1, 2, 4, and 8, and weak on the others. A horn with a spare, haunting sound (ala an open fifth), might have, in addition to the octave overtones, strong partials 3 and 6. If the note has strong overtones 5 and 10, then it will have a more rich sound. If the 7th overtone was strong, it might make the note blend less well with other instruments playing diatonic music. I base these presumptions on playing with an electronic organ's flute stops.
The York is strong on the octave overtones and the major fifth overtones, and only a hair weaker on the major third overtones. The flattish seventh overtone is weaker by comparison, but it also has a strong major second overtone up high, to what effect I don't know. The Miraphone is comparively weaker in the lower octave overtones, about the same in the fifth overtones, a hair stronger (relative to the others) in the lowest major third overtone, and not as weak as the York in the seventh. Plus, the high harmonics are all weaker. So, I would predict that it has a darker, more spare sound, while the York would be a richer sound. No surprise--that's exactly what I hear. How much of my speculation is reserse engineering my hearing impressions is anyone's guess.
Rick "enjoying this exercise" Denney