Complex Tone

A tone having more than a single frequency component. For instance, a tone consisting of a fundamental and overtones or harmonics, may be said to be complex. Compare: Simple Tone.

However, usage of this term is not consistent, and some writers refer to a complex tone as one having more than one pitch, thereby emphasizing the perceptual dependence of the term. In that case, a sound may have many frequency components (such as any musical instrument note) but if it seems to have only a single pitch, it will not be called complex.

The loudness of complex tones is calculated by summation of the perceived loudness of each sinusoidal component. See Appendix F.

See also: Aural Harmonics, Critical Band, Fourier Analysis, Fourier Synthesis, Helmholtz Resonator, Law of Superposition, Masking, Periodic, Residue, Sound Synthesis. Compare: Broad Band Noise, Perceived Noise Level.

Spectrum of a complex tone consisting of a fundamental and harmonics.