listennext: harmonics
empty so far
nothing in it yet. this lesson adds the lead
three wave shapes
numbersspeakerairyour ear
tap one to hear itsoft
Tap through soft, saw and square. Same note, same loudness, three completely different characters. That character is called timbre, said "tam-ber", or tone colour. It's how you can tell a piano from a guitar even when they play the same note.
Look at the shapes. The smooth wave sounds round and pure. The sharp corners of the saw and the square are what make them bright and buzzy.