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How can we distinguish the same frequency produced by a different instrument?

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Two notes, one produced by violin and the other by sitar, may have the same frequency, yet we can distinguish between them. Why?


1 Answer


The quality of a sound is determined by the number of overtones present in the note. The fundamental note of a violin and sitar may be the same but they are accompanied by a different number of overtones. As a result, the quality of the two sounds is different and we can distinguish the two notes.

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