Klanganteile

Klanganteile are the individual spectral components that together form a sound. In acoustics and music theory, the term describes the parts of a tone’s spectrum that give it its distinctive timbre or tone color, even when pitch and loudness are the same.

Typical Klanganteile include the fundamental frequency (Grundfrequenz), which largely determines pitch, and the harmonic partials (Obertöne), which are integer multiples of the fundamental and strongly influence color in many musical sounds. Inharmonic partials may appear in instruments such as bells or struck metal, where the partials do not align with simple multiples. In addition, noise components (Rauschanteile) can contribute to the overall color, especially in percussion or wind sounds. The relative amplitudes of these components, together with the spectral envelope (how energy decays across frequencies), shape the timbre.

Perception wise, the pitch is primarily linked to the fundamental, while the set and strength of Klanganteile determine timbre. The temporal evolution of a sound, including its attack, sustain, and release, also affects how Klanganteile are experienced over time and thus the overall color of the sound.

In analysis and synthesis, Klanganteile are studied with Fourier analysis to extract partials and their amplitudes. Additive synthesis constructs a sound by summing chosen Klanganteile, while spectral or physical-model synthesis manipulates the spectral envelope and phase relationships to achieve a desired timbre.

Examples illustrate differences among instruments: a flute often has a strong fundamental with weaker overtones, a violin displays rich harmonic content, a sine wave consists of nearly a single Klanganteil, and human voice shows formants—spectral peaks that shape vowel quality.