ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Harmonic series (music)

Hi there! Have you ever heard of a music scale? Well, each music scale is made up of different notes that sound good together. But did you know that there is a special kind of scale called the harmonic series?

The harmonic series is a group of notes that are produced by a string or a musical instrument when it is played in a special way. When you pluck a string or blow into an instrument, it creates a sound that is made up of many different frequencies or vibrations. But the harmonic series is made up of only certain frequencies that are related to each other in a special way.

To understand the harmonic series, let's pretend we have a big rubber band. When we stretch the rubber band and pluck it, it vibrates and makes a sound. This sound is called the fundamental frequency. But if we divide the rubber band in half and pluck it again, it will make a sound that is twice as high as the first sound. This is the second harmonic.

Now, let's divide the rubber band into thirds and pluck it again. This time, it will make a sound that is three times higher than the first sound. This is the third harmonic. We can keep dividing the rubber band into smaller pieces and plucking it to make even higher harmonics.

In music, these harmonics are used to create different notes or tones. Each note in the harmonic series is related to the fundamental frequency in a special way. The second harmonic is exactly twice the frequency of the fundamental, the third harmonic is three times the frequency, and so on.

When we play an instrument, we can produce the harmonics by changing the way we play the instrument. For example, a guitar player might pluck the string in a certain way to produce the harmonics. Or a trumpet player might use a technique called "overblowing" to produce the higher harmonics.

In conclusion, the harmonic series is a special group of notes that are related to each other in a special way. They are produced by vibrating objects, like strings and musical instruments, and are used to create different tones in music.