Inharmonicity

All else being equal, longer pianos with longer strings have larger, richer sound and lower inharmonicity of the strings.

Inharmonicity is the degree to which the frequencies of overtones (known as partials or harmonics ) sound sharp relative to whole multiples of the fundamental frequency.

Stretching a small piano's octaves to match its inherent inharmonicity level creates an imbalance among all the instrument's intervallic relationships, not just its octaves.

Terminology main Partial, harmonic, fundamental, inharmonicity, and overtone A "complex tone" (the sound of a note with a timbre particular to the instrument playing the note) "can be described as a combination of many simple periodic waves (i.

The greater the inharmonicity, the more the ear perceives it as harshness of tone.

The inharmonicity of a string depends on its physical characteristics, such as tension, stiffness, and length.

The term overtone does not imply harmonicity or inharmonicity and has no other special meaning other than to exclude the fundamental.