Overtone Series

A musical interval is a ratio of the frequencies of two pitches.

The ratios are shown as waves.

The ratios up to the 4th octave

The names come from the Xenharmonic Wiki en.xen.wiki and Huygens-Fokker foundation www.huygens-fokker.org/docs/intervals.html.

The base pitch is A 220 Hz in each case. The intervals were recorded with sine tones generated by Applied Acoustics Systems Ultra Analog VA-3.


1/1 unison, perfect prime

2/1 octave

3/2 perfect fifth

4/3 perfect fourth

5/3 major sixth, BP sixth

5/4 major third

6/5 minor third

7/3 minimal tenth, BP tenth

7/4 harmonic seventh

7/5 septimal or Huygens' tritone, BP fourth

7/6 septimal minor third

8/5 minor sixth

8/7 septimal whole tone

9/4 major ninth

9/5 just minor seventh, BP seventh

9/7 septimal major third, BP third

9/8 major whole tone

10/7 Euler's tritone

10/9 minor whole tone

11/5 neutral ninth

11/6 21/4-tone, undecimal neutral seventh

11/7 undecimal augmented fifth

11/8 undecimal semi-augmented fourth

11/9 undecimal neutral third

11/10 4/5-tone, Ptolemy's second

12/7 septimal major sixth

12/11 3/4-tone, undecimal neutral second

13/7 16/3-tone

13/8 tridecimal neutral sixth

13/9 tridecimal diminished fifth

13/10 tridecimal semi-diminished fourth

13/11 tridecimal minor third

13/12 tridecimal 2/3-tone

14/9 septimal minor sixth

14/11 undecimal diminished fourth or major third

14/13 2/3-tone

15/7 septimal minor ninth, BP ninth

15/8 classic major seventh

15/11 undecimal augmented fourth

15/13 tridecimal 5/4-tone

15/14 major diatonic semitone

16/7 septimal major ninth

16/9 Pythagorean minor seventh

16/11 undecimal semi-diminished fifth

16/13 tridecimal neutral third

16/15 minor diatonic semitone