PSYCH 3A03 Lecture Notes - Continuous Spectrum, Joseph Fourier, Musical Tone

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 3A03
• Professor: Paul Faure

Document Summary

So far we have been discussing sinusoidal motion and sine waves. A sine wave is a very simple (homogenous) sound also known as a pure tone signal. Sine waves are the fundamental component of all other sound waves. Most acoustic sounds, including animal vocalizations, are complex signals. All complex sounds can be described as the sum of many simple sinusoidal signals that differ in their amplitude, frequency, or phase. The fourier series has since transcended its originally intended purpose, spawning many new areas of study in mathematics and physics. When 2 or more sine waves are added together result is a complex wave. All complex sounds can be described as the sum of many simple sinusoidal signals that differ in their amplitude, phase and frequency. If two signals are in phase and have the same frequency you end up with a simple sound.