From the course: Digital Audio Foundations

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Partials, harmonics, and equalization (EQ)

Partials, harmonics, and equalization (EQ)

From the course: Digital Audio Foundations

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Partials, harmonics, and equalization (EQ)

- Frequencies interact in interesting ways when you combine multiple sounds. Let's look at some of those interactions and how they relate to mixing music. Here's a graph of amplitude versus frequency. It's called a spectrum analyzer. And it tells us which parts of the frequency spectrum are at what amplitude. It's quite different from a waveform graph or oscilloscope view. Being able to read both is important. So, let's compare them with some test signals. (musical tones) Now every sound, no matter how complex, is made up of ingredients of sine waves at different amplitudes, frequencies, and timings or phases constantly coming and going. Let's explore how these graphs work using simple test tones, then apply that to more complex sounds. A sine wave, like this (musical tone) is just one frequency. On the oscilloscope, it's a smooth wave. Exactly like a graph of the mathematical sine function. On the spectrum analyzer, it's a spike right at 1000 Hz and nothing anywhere else, showing the…

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