Undertones

Undertone is a term used to describe an underlying or implicit quality that lies beneath a surface impression. It is used across disciplines such as music, color theory, and rhetoric to refer to subtle attributes that influence perception, mood, or interpretation without being the focal element.

In music, the undertone series is a historical concept proposing subharmonics formed by dividing a fundamental frequency by integers greater than one. This idea contrasts with the widely observed overtone (harmonic) series, where frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental. The undertone perspective has been explored in late 19th- and early 20th-century theory and by some experimental composers, but it remains controversial and is not standard in modern tuning. In practice, overtone relations more reliably account for pitch and timbre on most instruments.

In color and aesthetics, undertones refer to subtle hues that lie beneath the surface color. For example, skin tones may be described as having cool, warm, or neutral undertones, which influence choices in makeup, clothing, and photography. In painting and design, the undertone of a color affects how it harmonizes with neighboring colors and how it appears under different lighting conditions.

In rhetoric and media analysis, undertones describe implied meanings or moods that are not stated outright. Describing a political or social undertone in a text or speech signals an undercurrent of attitude or intention that may color interpretation beyond the explicit message.

See also: overtone, subharmonic, hue, tint, shade, tone.