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The Overtone Series - The Foundation of Western Music Theory

Music Theories

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Hi everyone! Here is ep. 2 of the music fundamentals series. This is a very, very brief overview of the overtone series and why it matters!

Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Part One: Pythagoras
02:36 Part Two: Examples
05:57 Part Three: Functionality

Watch the rest of the fundamentals series:
Music Fundamentals

Read the scripts here:
https://musictheoriesdotblog.wordpres...

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Sources:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24045969
https://www.unyp.cz/news/music-and-ma...
https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001....
https://www.jstor.org/stable/427754?r...
https://answersdrive.com/what-did-pyt...
https://musicstudent101.com/46-the-ov...

Leonard Berstein: Harmonic Series - Explainedf
Motion of plucked string: Motion of Plucked String
Modes on a String: Modes on a String
Standing Waves and Harmonics: Standing Waves and Harmonics
The Physics of Music: The Physics of Music: Crash Course Physics...
Guitar Strings Oscillating: Guitar Strings Oscillating in HD 60 fps
Bowed violin string in slow motion: Bowed violin string in slow motion

20 Comments

@extraterrestrial7424 2 years ago

The fact that there was someone thousands of years before modern computers, astronomy, physics and chemistry that was already contemplating the notion that everything is mathematics, is crazy.

@BunnEFartz 4 years ago

One really doesn't realize the complexity of what you are enjoying when listening to "Smoke On The Water." :) But I remember reading all those magazines for musicians where they would break their process down into mathematics, which is why I never could read music.
Or do math :)

@RobinMayGuitar 4 months ago

I'm in the process or re-visiting The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organisation (George Russell). I think you might find it fascinating. It asserts that; rather than the major scale; the Lydian scale should be at the heart of all Western music theory. One of the reasons is that the overtone series provides/results in the lydian rather than Ionian scale.

@fishytank1land 1 year ago

The overtone series is also a timeline. Gregorian chant uses fifths and fourths, classical music introduce thirds, and then jazz uses seconds (9th chords), and then 20th century music uses quarter tones.

@BassAddict918 1 month ago

I happened upon this last night when I was just playing around with Harmonics on my Bass and was curious why I was hearing a 3rd, which is what prompted me to look up this video on the Overtone Series.

@erraticusPatternius 4 years ago

Great video! Will you some day do a video on reading sheet music? Thanks :)

@darkkartist 3 years ago

Wow your videos are so cool

@steverox8141 4 years ago

Good series of videos, and crispy explanation - easy to understand. Looking forward for more videos on science & math of Music.
Love from India 💌

@dominicesteban3174 3 years ago

Another fantastic explanation of something I thought I already understood but still learnt something new! Thanks for the Bernstein link as BTW; I watched it years ago but didn't really "get it".

@ianrodriguez7157 3 years ago

one of the best channels explaining music!!!

@ayo__ayo 4 years ago

I subbed! This is really helping me understand music theory!

@kevinl.4732 4 years ago

Great work!

@Dividendless 1 year ago

This is a perfect tutorial on harmonics/overtone series. Thank you!

@hannanathan564 3 years ago

These videos are amazing!

@bonarsmusic01 1 year ago

Really good breakdown. Well done!

@optimusprimal2 3 years ago

haha loved the Fullmetal Alchemist reference @6.06

@florentinosanchez3969 1 year ago

BEST VIDEO EVER. Thank you so much!!!

@JaneHappy-nr8cx 2 years ago

I really liked your teaching

@stephaniewebster-cheng437 2 years ago

What an excellent music theory resource! Thanks for posting!

@pablosaelzer 1 year ago

Fantastic Videos I use them in my music classes. In this one, on minute 5 you refer to the fundamental as the first overtone. Is it not the first partial?