partial
- noun
- /ˈpɑːrʧəl/
- Specialized
- Beginning trumpet players understand the concept that faster "buzzing" lips produce higher pitches on the trumpet, and many know these higher pitches are called partials or overtones.
- upper partials
Examples
-
A teacher who plays brass can demonstrate the partials on the instrument, showing that the basic harmonic series is the same on different instruments.
Academic text (2004) -
You have simulated the first five partials of the clarinet timbre.
Academic text (2011) -
So in fact all you need are the partials for these.
-
Students take great delight in finding the standing waves on the Slinky and in seeing how many different partials can be produced.
Academic text (2004) -
The musician explained how the partial frequencies contribute to the overall sound of the instrument.
-
In her acoustics class, she learned that each note played on a string produces several partials that enrich the sound.
-
During the demonstration, the teacher showed how to identify the partials of a musical note using a tuning fork.
Synonyms
A tone made when a string vibrates in parts above the main tone
A higher musical tone that sounds above the main note
A higher sound made when the main note vibrates a whole number of times
Compounds
A medical procedure late in pregnancy where the unborn baby is partly delivered and then removed
- Specialized
An equation that shows how a value changes when two or more things change
An event when one object in the sky blocks only part of another, leaving some still visible
- Jargon
A decision that says a person is guilty of some crimes but not others in the same trial
- Specialized
Total pressure of a gas mixture equals sum of pressures each gas would have alone under the same conditions
- Specialized
In a gas mixture, total pressure equals the sum of pressures each gas would make alone
- Specialized
A method to measure the relationship between two ranked variables while keeping other variables the same
- Jargon
A break of a contract that does not end it but lets the harmed person ask for money
- Specialized
How two things are related after removing the effect of a third thing
- Specialized
How fast a function with two or more variables changes when one variable changes and others stay the same
- Specialized
A higher sound made when the main note vibrates a whole number of times
- Specialized
A thin skin that covers a young mushroom and breaks to leave a ring on the stem
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Partial in music means one 'part' of a sound. It comes from the same root as part, so each partial is a component of the whole tone that helps make an instrument's unique sound.