owed near the end. In
the piano, the hammers are arranged so as to strike near one end of
the string, at a distance of about 1:7 to 1:9; and hence a large
number of overtones combine to reenforce and enrich the fundamental
tone.

270. The Individuality of Instruments. It has been shown that a
piano string when struck by a hammer, or a violin string when bowed,
or a mandolin string when plucked, vibrates not only as a whole, but
also in segments, and as a result gives forth not a simple tone, as we
are accustomed to think, but a very complex tone consisting of the
fundamental and one or more overtones. If the string whose fundamental
note is lower C (128 vibrations per second) is thrown into vibration,
the tone produced may contain, in addition to the prominent
fundamental, any one or more of the following overtones: C', G'', C'',
E'', C''', etc.

The number of overtones actually present depends upon a variety of
circumstances: in the piano, it depends largely upon the location of
the hammer; in the violin, upon the place and manner of bowing.
Mechanical differences in construction account for prominent and
numerous overtones in some instruments and for feeble and few
overtones in others. The oboe, for example, is so constructed that
only the high overtones are present, and hence the sound gives a
"pungent" effect; the clarinet is so constructed that the
even-numbered overtones are killed, and the presence of only
odd-numbered overtones gives individuality to the instrument. In these
two instruments we have vibrating air columns instead of vibrating
strings, but the laws which govern vibrating strings are applicable to
vibrating columns of air, as we shall see later. It is really the
presence or absence of overtones which enables us to distinguish the
note of the piano from that of the violin, flute, or clarinet. If
overtones could be eliminated, then middle C, or any other note on the
piano, would be indistinguishable from that same note sounded on any
other instrument. The fundamental note in every instrument is the
same, but the overtones vary with the instrument and lend
individuality to each. The presence of high overtones in the oboe and
the presence of odd-numbered overtones in the clarinet enable us to
distinguish without fail the sounds given out by these instruments.

The richness and individuality of an instrument are due, not only to
the overtones which accompany the fundamental, but also to the
"forced"