Piano Roll Theorymusic theory for producers
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Waveforms and harmonics

See and hear the harmonics of sine, triangle, square and sawtooth waves, then filter them.

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One cycle of the wave. Dotted line: the perfect shape; solid line: what is left after the filter.
1Harmonic 1: 110 Hz2Harmonic 2: 220 Hz3Harmonic 3: 330 Hz4Harmonic 4: 440 Hz5Harmonic 5: 550 Hz6Harmonic 6: 660 Hz7Harmonic 7: 770 Hz8Harmonic 8: 880 Hz9Harmonic 9: 990 Hz10Harmonic 10: 1,100 Hz11Harmonic 11: 1,210 Hz12Harmonic 12: 1,320 Hz13Harmonic 13: 1,430 Hz14Harmonic 14: 1,540 Hz15Harmonic 15: 1,650 Hz16Harmonic 16: 1,760 Hz
The first 16 harmonics and how strong they are. In gray, the ones the filter cuts.

Sawtooth. The sawtooth contains every harmonic, each one weaker than the last: it is the richest, brightest sound, the basis of leads, basses and supersaws, and the one where you hear a filter best.

The filter is wide open: every harmonic gets through. The fundamental of A2 vibrates at 110 hertz, and the 16th harmonic at 1,760 hertz. Lower the filter to hear the sound get darker.

This drawing simplifies things a little: a real filter does not cut cleanly, it turns down the harmonics above its cutoff frequency more and more.

Used in: Harmonics and Timbre