Hear it · see it · mix it

🔊 Sound Lab

Mix eight harmonics into a timbre and watch it two ways at once: the waveform in time and the frequency spectrum. Every slider changes the picture, the sound, and the explanation of why it sounds that way.

Waveform

Spectrum

Fundamental440 Hz

Harmonics on1 / 8

Spectral centroid—

Odd-harmonic energy—

Fundamental frequency · 440 Hz · A4

Volume · 25%

Harmonic mixer · amplitude of each multiple n × f, − flips its phase

With only 8 harmonics the square and sawtooth here are approximations (Fourier series cut at n = 8), so their edges still ripple. A − sign flips one harmonic's phase: the waveform changes shape but a steady tone sounds the same, because the ear hears the spectrum, not the phase. The microphone feeds the analyser only, so there is no feedback through the speakers.