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Strike tone

What is strike tone? A clear definition from the acoustics, sound and tuning & pitch section of our glossary, with 13 related terms, tools to try and further reading.

Definition of Strike tone

The strike tone, strike note, or tap note, of a percussion instrument (e.g. bell, chime or gong) when struck, is the dominant note perceived immediately by the human ear. An analysis of the bell's frequency spectrum reveals that the fundamental frequency of the instrument only produces a weak sound and the characteristic strike note is a human perception of sounds built up by the complex series of partials or frequency components that are generated. The partials are given names in order hum, prime, tierce, quint and the nominal.

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What is Strike tone?

The strike tone, strike note, or tap note, of a percussion instrument (e.g. bell, chime or gong) when struck, is the dominant note perceived immediately by the human ear.

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