Overtone: Similar in concept to a harmonic. Overtones are sounds produced by an instrument (or sound source) that are higher in frequency than the fundamental frequency. They may or may not coincide with the frequencies of a harmonic series (harmonics), although they usually do. Harmonics are always musically related to a fundamental in that they are integer multiples of it. Overtones of a sound are often identical to its harmonics except the first overtone is considered the second harmonic because the first harmonic is the fundamental. Overtones are also sometimes called partials.

 

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