By combining sine waves whose frequencies (speeds) are multiples of the fundamental one, but whose amplitudes (loudness) differ, you can make pretty much any melodic sound you can think of. The next is three times the speed and called the third harmonic, and so on. The next one is twice as fast and called the second harmonic. The fundamental harmonic is the main one, which is simply the note you want to play. Pretty much any timbre that sounds melodic is made up of sine waves of related frequencies. It is based on the work of Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. Additive synthesis ByteNoise Additive synthesisĪdditive synthesis, also known as Fourier synthesis, is a method of making sounds (usually pleasant sounding timbres to be used in music) using sine waves as building blocks.
