Ladefoged (Elements) – Chapter 5 – Resonance

Hello! I have a question about the materials discussed from pages 61 – 64, specifically, his references to Fig. 5.1. I understand very little about how the diagram is doing anything that the accompanying text is saying it does.

I’m not sure how the diagram shows the composition of the complex wave or its preferred resonances; I was under the impression that the one on the top was a representation of the complex wave itself, while the bottom spectrum shows the frequencies of the source’s resonances.

The text says that the diagram reflects that the source responds best to frequencies around 1000Hz and hardly responds to anything above 3000hz, but the peak of the spectrum of the sound wave seems to be around 4000Hz, and that value is not mentioned at all. In general, I just didn’t know where to look and what each detail of the diagram is supposed to reflect. I could make assumptions based on the shape of the diagram and its alignment, but I thought it would be best to clarify so I can gain a better understanding.

Thank you!

Hi, Danielle, I think that is a mistake in the book.

It’s interesting that in my ebook, the author says that the resonance frequency is around 4000 Hz, which I think is the correct figure. I think ‘3000Hz’ in ‘hardly respond at all to frequencies above 3000Hz’ may be ‘8000Hz’, otherwise the whole paragraph doesn’t seem to make sense.