All Topics  
Fundamental frequency

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Fundamental frequency



 
 
The fundamental tone, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0 or F0, is the lowest frequency in a harmonic series
Harmonic series (music)

Definite pitch musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously....
.

The fundamental frequency
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 of a periodic signal is the inverse of the period
Period (music)

A period is a phrase consisting usually of an antecedent and consequent and totaling about 8 measures in length . Generally, the antecedent ends in a half cadence while the consequent ends in an authentic cadence....
 length. The period is, in turn, the smallest repeating unit of a signal. One period thus describes the periodic signal completely. The significance of defining the period as the smallest repeating unit can be appreciated by noting that two or more concatenated
Concatenation (disambiguation)

Concatenation may refer to:* Concatenation, a computer programming operation that joins strings together* Concatenation , a mathematical operation that combines two vectors...
 periods form a repeating pattern in the signal.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Fundamental frequency'
Start a new discussion about 'Fundamental frequency'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The fundamental tone, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0 or F0, is the lowest frequency in a harmonic series
Harmonic series (music)

Definite pitch musical instruments are often based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air, which oscillates at numerous frequencies simultaneously....
.

The fundamental frequency
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 of a periodic signal is the inverse of the period
Period (music)

A period is a phrase consisting usually of an antecedent and consequent and totaling about 8 measures in length . Generally, the antecedent ends in a half cadence while the consequent ends in an authentic cadence....
 length. The period is, in turn, the smallest repeating unit of a signal. One period thus describes the periodic signal completely. The significance of defining the period as the smallest repeating unit can be appreciated by noting that two or more concatenated
Concatenation (disambiguation)

Concatenation may refer to:* Concatenation, a computer programming operation that joins strings together* Concatenation , a mathematical operation that combines two vectors...
 periods form a repeating pattern in the signal. However, the concatenated signal unit obviously contains redundant information. The fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency component of a signal that excites (imparts energy) to a system.

In terms of a superposition of sinusoids (for example, fourier series
Fourier series

In mathematics, a Fourier series decomposes a periodic function into a sum of simple oscillating functions, namely sine wave . The study of Fourier series is a branch of Fourier analysis....
), the fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency sinusoidal in the sum.

The fundamental frequency of a sound wave in a tube with a single CLOSED end can be found using the following equation:

L can be found using the following equation:

? (lambda
Lambda

Lambda is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 30. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet Lamed ....
) can be found using the following equation:

The fundamental frequency of a sound wave in a tube with either both ends OPEN or both ends CLOSED can be found using the following equation:

L can be found using the following equation:-

The wavelength, which is the distance in the medium between the beginning and end of a cycle, is found using the following equation: WAVELENGTH = Velocity/Frequency or

Where:

F = fundamental Frequency
L = length of the tube
v = velocity of the sound wave
? = wavelength

At 20 °C (68 °F) the speed of sound
Speed of sound

Sound is a vibration that travels through an elasticity medium as a wave. The speed of sound describes how much distance such a wave travels in a certain amount of time....
 in air is 343 m/s (1129 ft/s). This speed is temperature dependent
Speed of sound

Sound is a vibration that travels through an elasticity medium as a wave. The speed of sound describes how much distance such a wave travels in a certain amount of time....
 and does increase at a rate of 0.6 m/s for each degree Celsius increase in temperature (1.1 ft/s for every increase of 1 °F).

The velocity of a sound wave at different temperatures:-
  • v = 343.2 m/s at 20 °C
  • v = 331.3 m/s at 0 °C


Mechanical systems

Consider a beam, fixed at one end and having a mass attached to the other, this would be a single degree of freedom (SDoF) oscillator. Once set into motion it will oscillate at its natural frequency. For a single degree of freedom oscillator, a system in which the motion can be described by a single coordinate, the natural frequency depends on two system properties; mass and stiffness. The circular natural frequency, ?n, can be found using the following equation:

Where:
k = stiffness
Stiffness

Stiffness is the resistance of an Elasticity body to deformation by an applied force. It is an intensive and extensive properties....
 of the beam
m = mass of weight
?n = circular natural frequency (radians per second)

From the circular frequency, the natural frequency, fn, can be found by simply dividing ?n by 2p. Without first finding the circular natural frequency, the natural frequency can be found directly using:

Where:
fn = natural frequency in hertz (1/seconds)
k = stiffness of the beam (Newton/Meters or N/m)
m = mass of weight (kg)

See also

  • Missing fundamental
    Missing fundamental

    A sound is said to have a missing fundamental, suppressed fundamental, or phantom fundamental when its overtones suggest a fundamental frequency but the sound lacks a component at the fundamental frequency itself....
  • Oscillation
    Oscillation

    Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value or between two or more different states. Familiar examples include a swinging pendulum and Alternating current power....
  • Hertz
    Hertz

    The hertz is a measure of frequency per unit of time, or the number of list of cycles per second. It is the SI base unit of frequency in the International System of Units , and is used worldwide in both general-purpose and scientific contexts....
  • Electronic tuner
    Electronic tuner

    An electronic tuner is a device used by musicians to detect and display the Pitch of notes played on musical instruments. The simplest tuners use LED lights or a needle to indicate approximately whether the pitch of the note played is lower, higher, or approximately equal to the desired pitch....
  • Scale of harmonics
    Scale of harmonics

    The scale of harmonics is a musical scale based on the noded positions of the natural harmonics existing on a string. This musical scale is present on the guqin, regarded as one of the first string instruments with a musical scale ....