A waveform rich in harmonic overtones. Why else would a piano playing C4 sound different from a trombone playing C4?
In fact, they even generate nonharmonic overtones, which are largely responsible for the differences in sound between piano designs. Aside from much reduced dynamic range, one of the reasons pianos before about 1860-70 sounded bad was the inharmonicity of the higher strings due to the need for stiffer materials that vibrated nonlinearly. The popularization of the steel soundboard allowed higher string tensions, thus lowering the required damping force at a given frequency. Keep reading…
