partial tone
- noun
- Specialized
:
tono parcial
- A single note sounding on the cello, for example, sounds like one pitch, but it actually contains many pitches (partial tones or harmonics) that give the note its particular tone quality or timbre.
- partial tones and pitch
Examples
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Partial tones (also called overtones) are produced by fractional divisions (length, 1/3 length, etc.) of the vibrating body or air column.
Academic text (2004) -
Playing and hearing the partial tones seems to sensitize many listeners to the presence of the partials in the original low C, enabling some students to hear a particular partial when the fundamental is played.
Academic text (2004) -
The combination of the strong fundamental or first partial with weaker, higher partial tones or overtones.
Academic text (2004) -
The upper note will then vibrate softly in sympathy with the partial tone contained in the fundamental.
Academic text (2004) -
The branch of acoustics concerned with musical tones, including sound waves, room acoustics, complex and partial tones, timbre, pitch, intervals, tuning systems, and instrumental and vocal tone production.
Academic text (2004) -
It includes, in addition to room and auditorium acoustics, sound waves and wave propagation, complex tones and partial tones, timbre and pitch, intervals, scales, tuning systems, and instrumental and vocal tone production.
Academic text (2004) -
A musician can isolate a partial tone by adjusting the instrument's tuning to highlight specific harmonics.
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Understanding partial tones helps composers create richer and more complex musical pieces.
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When the pianist struck the key, the partial tone of the note resonated throughout the hall.
Synonyms
128
4.1
The pitch of a syllable that changes a word's meaning in languages like Mandarin
3
6.7
A tone made when a string vibrates in parts above the main tone
3
7.4
A higher musical tone that sounds above the main note
A tone inside a sound that helps make an instrument's unique sound
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositional: given the specialist noun 'partial' (a spectral/harmonic component) and 'tone' (a sound/pitch), a learner can infer that a 'partial tone' is a tone that corresponds to a partial or harmonic. Although technical, the meaning is directly built from the constituent meanings rather than being idiomatic or metaphorical.
Etymology
Partial tone comes from the idea that a musical tone is made of many small parts called partials, like tiny notes that vibrate faster than the main note. So a partial tone is a 'harmonic', one of those small vibrations that gives a sound its colour.